It's Not Over
by Gator-Girl1
Summary: A continuation of the show based on Seasons 1 and 2. A bit AU. Warning: Chapters 7 through 12 have been revised. Changes to character and actions. Overall plot the same.
1. Chapter 1

It's Not Over

Disclaimer: I don't own Jericho, the characters, or any of it.

Note: This story begins about 4 months after Season 2

Chapter 1:

"I know I am no Jake, but I love you." A male voice said as heavy footsteps echoed into the almost empty sheriff's office.

"What in the world are you talking about?" Heather looked up from the stack of reports that she was working through. She knew very well what the blond deputy was talking about. No one would ever accuse Bill Kohler of going head long into danger. He was cautious. Heather, staring at Bill, raised an eyebrow and replied, "I know you are not Jake. That is probably one of the things I like the most about you."

"Let's be sensible then. These meetings are dangerous. What possible good could it do for you to go?" Bill leaned back on the counter across the room from where Heather's desk sat, crossing his arms. "Each time you go, you tempt fate," Bill added.

"I am being sensible. I have to go. I am responsible for the Rangers and I need to know what we are up against. Beck put me in charge. Where we are meeting is secure. Beck isn't going to put me or any of the leadership in danger, not on the eve of war." Heather answered, letting out a heavy breath. Heather had taken over the Jericho Rangers in the absence of Jake. Eric tried to lead the group in the days after Jake had left, but he didn't have the stomach to make the tough decisions. When push came to shove, Heather knew what had to be done and did it. She wasn't going to back down because she was afraid of being unpopular. Beck, fearing an internal power struggle, had seen these qualities and announced Heather as his liaison with Jericho which was his way of saying that Heather was in charge.

"Beck's an idiot! Pushing paper around and giving people orders is one thing, but driving across roads controlled by road gangs into a war zone is completely different!" Bill exclaimed shaking his head in angry disbelief. Heather and Bill had this same argument every couple of weeks. He knew it was pointless, but he felt like he had to make Heather see how much he cared and try to get through to her that the danger was growing. "I know _you_ don't care about what happens to you, but I care. Other people in this town care. What would we do without you?"

"What you guys did when I left for New Bern," Heather calmly replied as she leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms. Heather knew once Bill found out about the trip that she would hear about it. She took another breath and calmly continued, "Bill, we have this same argument every time I go to meet with Beck or any of the members of the Resistance. I am well aware of the danger, but it doesn't matter. I have nothing to lose. Everyone who ever truly loved me is dead and the people who I thought cared really didn't. My illusions about my place in Jericho and in the world have all been shattered in the past year."

Bill rose from the desk and crossed the room "That's a load of crap! Didn't you just hear me? I love you! I care!" Bill yelled as he towered over her. Bill tried to control the anger that was seething inside him. Heather didn't even flinch. _Why didn't she understand how much I care? _Bill thought to himself.

Heather sat motionless for a minute, trying to gather her thoughts. She knew that his feelings ran a lot deeper than hers. She wished she could return the sentiment, but instead felt dead inside. She thought of what the old Heather would have said. "I'm sorry." She quietly replied. After another moment she continued, "I know that you don't want me going, but I have to. Even if there was someone else, I wouldn't send them. I can't put someone else in danger just to save myself. I just don't work that way."

Heather saw Bill's anger wane in his eyes. As he calmed down, he took a moment to answer. "I know you don't work that way. You are one of the most selfless people I know. If you are going to go, then I am going with you. You need help, especially if you run into a road gang."

"Bill, I can't let you do that. When have you ever run head long into danger without thinking about it? I used to think you were such a self-preserving, such a…" Heather was stumped for a word to describe the blond deputy. She may not be in love with Bill, but she didn't want to hurt him.

Eric Green walked in just at that moment and finished her sentence. "Schmuck. I believe the word you are looking for is schmuck." Eric, shaking his head, smiled at the pair in front of him. "So, what are you two talking about? Is she finally getting smart and dumping your sorry ass, Bill?" Eric teased.

Bill, putting one eye brow up, quickly defended. "I am not a schmuck. I am merely pragmatic."

Heather chuckled lightly at his response, trying to decide if he knew what 'pragmatic' meant. "Eric, you're right. Bill can be schmuck, but I'm not ready to give up on him. He is the only one who cares whether I exist or not," Heather teased.

Eric shook his head realizing the seriousness of her jest. "That's not true. You have a lot of good friends in this town who all care about you. I know things have been rough since New Bern, but we all still care," Eric reassured her feeling sorry for the woman in front of him. Heather had been through so much in the past year. Eric often thought that the past year had been hard on him, but one look at Heather and he realized that it wasn't that bad. At least he still had his mom and Mary. Heather had no one. He tried to find the words to inspire her. "You're the leader of the Rangers and a strong force in the Resistance. Jericho would have been over taken by now if it wasn't for you." Eric paused for a moment looking for a way out a bad conversation.

"So what are you guys arguing about?" Eric asked trying to change the subject. He put his hands in his pockets and began shifting his weight from one foot to another.

"Heather's meeting. I am trying to convince her that it isn't safe, nor is it worth the risk for her to go, but she keeps on insisting on it." Bill replied leaning back on the desk that Heather was sitting at. Bill knew it was a fruitless argument, but he kept at it. He hoped that maybe she would be convinced this time to let him tag along.

Eric shook his head again. "Bill, she has to go. She is the only one with the knowledge of the intelligence and the clearance to get in there. Those guys are expecting Heather. We send someone else; we are just opening ourselves up for attack. I am afraid I am going to have to agree with Heather on this one. We need to know what we are up against. Though, she should probably take an escort."

"That's what I was saying. I told her I am going with her. If she is going to get herself killed, I think we should go down together." Bill nervously laughed. Bill liked the look in Heather's eyes. He could see that she was obviously considering it.

Heather turned her blue eyes to meet with Bill's. "What about your mother? What will happen to her if something happens to you?" Heather pointedly asked. She was going to come up with a valid excuse to keep him at home if it killed her. Her life didn't mean much to her any more, but she still wanted to protect his.

"My mom will be fine. My brother, Stew, can take care of her." Bill quietly pleaded to Heather. Bill started to feel like he was winning the day. Of course, he wasn't sure what he was winning. It looked like he was getting himself into trouble or worse, but for Heather it was worth it. He would do whatever it took to keep her safe.

"If you want to go with me, then okay." Heather relented throwing her arms up in surrender. She then turned to Eric. "Eric, you think that Jimmy and the rest of the deputies can handle everything," Heather asked, crossing her arms again. She already knew the answer. She didn't like putting anyone else in danger, but Eric and Bill were right. It was getting hazardous out there. Heather knew that a gunner would be good and Bill was a good shot, probably the best sharp shooter in the Rangers.

"Of course," Eric replied, feeling like he actually accomplished something that night. Turning to Bill, Eric went on, "We should be able to handle things while you are gone."

"Good. Was there anything you needed?" Heather asked realizing there must have been some other reason why he came in from the Mayor's office. Heather figured Gray was looking for a report or just someone to push around. Gray resented Heather and her place in the Resistance and made sure she knew it.

"Nope. I just was tired of listening to Gray and I thought I might see who was in the Sheriff's department," Eric replied. "I had better get going back there before Gray makes any more declarations," Eric said. Eric often acted as a shield between Gray's angst and the members of the Rangers. It was a good position for him. He wasn't good at making the hard decisions. He was better at towing the line and making sure others did so.

"I better get going too," Bill chimed in. "I have to go check the patrol and get our gear together."

Eric turned and left leaving Bill and Heather alone. Heather knew that Bill was looking for a sign that she cared. Heather rose from her seat and embraced Bill. "Thank you. Sometimes I forget."

Bill hugged her tightly back understanding what she meant. "It's all right. The world we live in right now. It can make anyone feel like they are all alone." Bill let go and took Heather's right hand into his. Looking down at her hand, Bill went on, "Like I said before, I am no Jake Green. I'm not a brooding former bad boy seeking danger at every turn. I am just a small town deputy who unfortunately still lives with his mother and has self-preserving, schmuck tendencies."

Heather laughed. "I know. Like I said before, one of your more redeeming qualities is that you're not like Jake. By the way, I like your Mom. I think it's nice you take care of her." Heather took her hand a way and gave Bill a kiss on the cheek. "You had better get going. I'll see you in the morning. If you are going to come with me, we need to leave at daybreak."

Bill nodded. "Okay. I'll see you first thing in the morning."

Bill quickly kissed Heather on the cheek and walked out of the Sheriff's office and into the crisp autumn evening. He left feeling ambivalent about the trip. If he was honest, he was ambivalent about the whole relationship with Heather. Her walls were about a mile high and he had his doubts if they would ever come down.

Heather sat back down and leaned back in her chair. She smiled thinking about Bill and reflecting on the last four months. When she had returned from New Bern, Heather was at a crossroads in her life. She had no place to call home. Her friends in New Bern had turned her into the enemy and her friends in Jericho had pretty much forgotten about her. Her best friend, Emily, had barely spoken to her in six months. Heather thought of numerous explanations for Emily's silence. Emily was never very good at explaining her feelings or empathizing with others. It wasn't that Emily was a bad person because she wasn't. She just lived on her own terms and damned be the consequences.

Heather considered confronting Emily in an attempt to mend the relationship, but she knew better. Emily wasn't her friend any more. Heather had her doubts whether she really had ever been a real friend. Prior to Heather leaving for New Bern, she saw a pending emotional disaster she wanted to avoid. Emily wanted Jake, but was still with Roger. Jake wanted Emily, but had the kiss with Heather hanging over his head. Heather had spent most of her time avoiding the lot of them, but avoiding Jake and Emily had become difficult. It was more than apparent to everyone that Jake and Emily still had feelings for each other and she felt like she was standing in the way. Heather saw New Bern as a chance to get past Jake and allow whatever was going to happen to happen. Upon returning, Heather realized, even after being through hell and back, that her feelings for Jake hadn't gone away, but now he was with Emily.

Trying to forget about Jake, Heather had clung to Beck who reminded her in many ways of her father. Master Sergeant Robert J. Lisinski had been a decorated war hero and New Bern sheriff. Things would have been different if her father was still alive. Heather's father would never have allowed New Bern to fall into the chaos. Heck, she probably wouldn't have moved to Jericho. Who knows where she would have been? She tried to push the "what ifs" out of her mind. Her father often said the "what ifs" could kill you.

Beck was a good man, but he was married not only to a woman who was missing, but to the military. Though she felt an obvious connection with Beck, she knew there was a line she could not and would not cross. While Beck was in Jericho, she felt wanted and protected, but Heather knew it wasn't going to last. Her loyalties had been tested and she had willingly defended Beck even in the face of death threats. She knew the relative peace that had developed when Beck and the 10th mountain division arrived was merely an illusion. Heather saw New Bern and knew it could happen in Jericho.

While others were letting J&R handle everything, Heather was planning for the future. When she wasn't working with Beck, she was turning her backyard into a garden. When J&R had attempted to stop her, Beck had intervened. She listened to Beck trying to soak in how he handled various situations. Heather prepared herself for the future, for now.

Even with Jake out of her reach, Heather found herself doing whatever he asked with only minimal explanation. She betrayed Beck, the man she had made her rock. Would Jake ever love her back, or even care about the sacrifices she made? Would Jake ever realize how much she was willing to give up helping him? Probably not, was her answer. Still, she put herself in danger even though she knew he didn't care.

By mid-July, Beck had left to make a stand on the Colorado-Kansas boarder and Heather was alone again. She was almost to the point of no return. She was in survival mode, worried more about keeping the town safe and the impending battle then her own mental health. Then out of the blue, Bill Kohler came up to her and asked her to come to dinner. Heather surprised herself by accepting with no idea at the time why she said yes. Now, she realized it was because she still needed someone, anyone. Bill was a good guy who had his flaws, but was still dependable. Over the past year, they had often been on opposite sides in the various arguments, but he always came around in the end. Bill was not a candidate for Mensa, but that was okay. Neither was Jake. Jake was invading her thoughts again. Jake hadn't returned. It had been four months. Heather shook her head and tried not to think about it.

Bill once asked about her feelings for Jake. She lied and said it was merely a childish crush. She had a feeling that Bill hadn't bought it, but he still stuck around. Bill was a good man who deserved better than her half-hearted attempt at a relationship. She wish she could do better, but at this point, she gave Bill all she had. Trying to focus on something that she could control, Heather went back to her reports and pushed her other thoughts aside.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Jericho or any of its characters. I'm just borrowing them for a little while.

Any Feedback is appreciated!!

--

Bill and Heather had left early the next morning to make the long drive to the meeting. Along the roads were the scattered remains of cars and trucks that were either burned out or stripped of anything valuable. People with warn out faces walked along the highway trying to make their way to nowhere. Fires could be seen off in the distance. Bill had asked Heather what they were burning.

"They're burning bodies," Heather said with no emotion as she looked over the horizon. It took everything in her to ignore the feelings of sadness and guilt over those deaths. If she thought about it, she knew she'd cry. "You are going to want to turn left at the next intersection."

"Bodies? Why the hell are they burning bodies?!" Bill asked with fear in his voice.

"Hudson River Virus," Heather answered matter-of-factly. The virus had spread to Kansas despite efforts to quarantine it. Heather tried again not to think of the lives lost.

Bill made no reply and kept driving. He knew about the virus and had heard vague rumors about its spread. He also knew that J&R had made every effort to see that no one, but the chosen few, got the vaccine. Thanks to Jake and Dale, the citizens of Jericho had been able to get their hands on the vaccine and avert what could have been a catastrophe. Those people hadn't been so lucky.

The meetings of the Resistance leadership moved around often, always struggling to stay one step ahead of Ravenwood and the Cheyenne government. Putnam, Kansas was chosen because it was more than 50 miles from any ASA occupied territory making the possibility of an attack minimal. With much of the leadership in one location, the meeting was a prime target for the ASA.

Bill had lived all his life in Kansas, but had never ventured to the tiny town of Putnam with population of approximately fifty people. The town consisted of a feed store, a grain elevator, and a mechanic. Otherwise there were few other buildings in the town proper. Heather had explained to Bill that the town and the farm houses around it had been almost all abandoned within months of the attacks. Without supplies of gas, medicine, and other essentials most of the residents had left.

Heather seemed to know exactly where to go and so Bill followed her directions as he drove his Ford Bronco down old country roads that were in serious need of re-surfacing. The roads reminded him of his teenage years hanging out with Stanley and Jake. Bill had always been a hanger-on, a follower. If he did stupid things, it was always at the urging of his friends. Sometimes Bill wished he was more like Jake, but he was too cautious by nature. He wasn't someone who was going to take a lot of risks and he accepted that about himself a long time ago. The biggest risk he took lately was pursuing Heather.

Bill thought about Heather, who unlike Bill, was not a follower. She always did her own thing and went to the beat of her own drummer. She was the only woman he knew that could fix a car and make an apple pie. Bill knew Heather was too smart for him, but he'd struggle to hold on while he could. A girl like Heather doesn't come around very often and they didn't date guys like him. Bill found himself shaking his head, as Heather told him to make another turn, trying to figure out how she knew where she was going.

With every turn, Bill was sure that they were getting lost. Finally, after making one last turn, they came upon an older two-story farmhouse with a myriad of trucks and cars parked around it in what was left of the front yard. The house, like the road, was in serious need of repair. From the chipped paint to the mile high weeds, the house had seen better days. There were two men wearing dingy army jackets and carrying AK-47s standing at the entry of the driveway. They nodded at Heather and let Bill through.

There were men and women milling about the front yard and going in and out of the house. Mixed in with the civilians were members of the military. There were people laughing and people crying and some people just standing there looking expressionless. The sound of rock music was blaring through the area. The leadership of the Kansas Resistance Movement was an eclectic mix of individuals from various backgrounds. Most had little military experience and prior to the war had lived ordinary lives.

The only face that Bill recognized was that of Major Beck who was intently watching them as they drove up. Bill still didn't trust the Major, not after what he had done to his friends and to Jericho. Heather, on the other hand, seemed to trust him implicitly. Bill felt the one flaw that Heather had was that she was too trusting and too forgiving. He didn't think he would ever be able to forgive Major Beck for all of the harm he'd caused.

"That drive was quiet," Heather commented as Bill parked the Bronco near the road. "At least there were no irradiated ants," Heather joked, using her old standby, trying to break the tension in the air.

Bill turned and looked at Heather incredulously. "You call that quiet? Heather, I…I had no idea…." Bill couldn't even get the words out to describe what he had seen.

"I'm sorry," Heather quickly apologized. "I didn't prepare you enough for what to expect. I've tried to protect…."

"I'm okay, Heather," Bill interrupted. "I knew things were bad. It's one thing to hear about them, but another to see them. I just can't believe you have been going alone. You could have been killed or worse," Bill said as he struggled to keep his emotions in check.

"You're here now to protect me, right?" Heather asked looking at him straight in the eyes.

Bill nodded his head.

"Keep your eyes and ears open. Things may look secure, but as you know, looks can be deceiving." Heather reached out her hand and patted his cheek lightly. "Also, just to warn you, these guys can get a bit wild. They tend to think of this whole thing as a party slash meeting." Heather quickly exited the vehicle. Bill, with rifle in hand, followed her out of the Bronco and toward Major Beck.

"Heather! I was starting to get worried about you," Beck smiled at her as she walked up the drive with Bill. "I see that you took my advice and brought someone with you," Beck said as he looked at Bill. "Deputy Kohler, good to see you."

Bill merely nodded in response fearing that if he opened his mouth he would probably say something he'd regret later or make Heather mad at him.

"I'm sorry for causing any worry. It sounds like the guys started in early," Heather quipped as she looked around the farmhouse. "I take it they haven't actually discussed anything?" Heather quickly asked.

"What do you think? You know these guys. I thought I would wait for you out here and avoid the fray," Beck replied. "We'd better get in there before it gets out of hand."

Major Beck, Heather, and Bill walked in the dilapidated front door of the farmhouse and headed to the back where the kitchen was located. They had to push through a crowd of people who had gathered at the farmhouse. Most were not actual leaders, but merely members of the resistance who had come along to the meeting. They used the meetings as an excuse to get together with friends and exchange information.

As Heather entered the kitchen, she heard the familiar voices of her colleagues. She noticed the air inside was stuffy as the house was rather crowded. Inside was a large kitchen table with several people seated around it. There were maps of Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, and Wyoming on the walls. As her eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, Heather looked around at the men and women in the room. It looked like they had already begun talking.

"This is ridiculous!" Heather heard a man shout. She recognized the voice as Roger, Emily's Roger. Roger, after being turned out of Jericho and away from New Bern, had taken refuge in a small town in southern Kansas near Dodge City. The town was just far enough off the beaten path to not have refugees coming through, nor had they had to face Ravenwood. They had been reluctant at first to take him in, but within a few months, Roger had earned their respect and been made a leader of their small force. Using his experience in business and banking, Roger was managing to create an alliance among many of the small towns in southeastern Kansas. While much of the world was falling apart, Roger's little part of the world was coming together.

"Roger, you are just being too careful," another familiar sniveling voice chimed in. Heather recognized the voice as Phil Constantino from New Bern. Heather took a deep breath trying to remember that he wasn't the enemy any more or at least for the time being. Heather had forced herself to move beyond the feelings of anger and betrayal, even though it had cost her soul dearly. She added it to the list of compromises she'd made for the greater good. If the Kansas Resistance was going to make it, they were going to need every able bodied person available; even one's whose tactics were questionable.

"Phil, we don't have the resources to start an offensive move on the ASA," another familiar voice pointed out. The voice belonged to Alton Matthews who was often the voice of reason. Alton had become defacto leader of a group of farmers who chose to fight rather than give up their farms to the new government. When J&R came through making promises, Alton was skeptical and his feelings were well founded. Like in Jericho, J&R tried to force the farmers into bad deals threatening to take their farms. Alton led his group in an all out revolt and was successful in running J&R out of the area. He eventually assumed leadership of the entire Kansas Resistance.

"Hey, baby-girl, come sit by me," Alton Matthews called out to Heather as soon as he noticed she was in the room. Heather looked around to find him sitting at the end of the table patting an empty chair next to him. She went around and sat as quickly as she could. Bill followed her around. Heather glanced back at Bill who was standing behind her chair with rifle in hand, trying to give his best bad-ass look. Heather couldn't help, but crack a smile.

"We need to figure out our strategy. Are we going to sit back and let the war come to us, or are we going to make a decisive move?" Constantino interjected clearly disgusted.

"Phil, we are well aware of your feelings on the matter, but we don't have the resources to launch a full scale attack," Beck answered. Beck looked to Heather. "Heather, how's it coming with Columbus? Is there any hope that we are going to get reinforcements soon?" Beck asked trying to move away from Constantino's statements before he derailed the whole meeting. Beck had little patience for the man. If he didn't need New Bern or its men, he would have taken the man out a long time ago, but as it stands, he needed the jerk.

"I've tried getting through to Columbus, but the chain of command is a complete mess. Look, we're going to have to make it on our own. We've seen the devastation that the bombs have caused and then the virus in Kansas alone. Just think about it on a nationwide scale and you'll realize that it's going to be a long time before we get back-up from the east."

"You mean we're on our own? How in the Hell are we going to survive the winter, let alone win this war without some kind of aid?" the familiar voice of Sam Wade asked. Sam was leader of the central Kansas Militia. His group was responsible for the Kansas Turnpike and kept Cheyenne from using the road to transport supplies.

Beck shook his head. "Not on your own Sam. You have the 10th Mountain division, Kansas National Guard, a contingent of Texas troops and Kansas Militia who are going to fight along side you," Beck quickly countered, "And remember, ASA is not operating on full strength either. They have been hit hard by desertions as word spreads about Cheyenne's involvement in the September attacks."

"Look, one thing everyone can agree on is that we can't launch a full-scale attack and think that this war will be over. We are going to be at this for a long, long time. Our focus has to be continuing on weakening Cheyenne's hand," Heather interjected. "ASA has its own problems. As far as I can tell from some foreign news outlets, they are postponing any major confrontation with us until they see some fruition with their negotiations with China and Russia."

"The Chinese?!" Christopher Matthew, Alton's son, asked as anger flashed through his dark brown eyes. Christopher was a young man in his early twenties. "We might be fighting the damned Chinese?"

"Possible, but not likely," Heather explained. "More than anything, ASA needs an influx of money. The Russians and the Chinese are the best possible sources. The EU has chosen to side with Columbus thanks to Texas," Heather explained. More like thanks to Hawkins and Jake, but Heather wasn't going to go into that.

"So what happens now?" Roger asked.

"We keep doing what we're doing. We fight on a small scale, work on spreading the message. The only thing that matters is that we keep going, keep fighting. I know you guys want our nation back, but we've got to concentrate on getting our State back. Remember, we're fighting for our very survival, our right to live," Heather answered realizing she was quoting from the movie "Independence Day". She hoped no one called her out on it.

"What do you mean our survival?" Beck asked knowing what Heather was about to explain. Heather knew exactly what to say to inspire these guys to fight.

"What do you think ASA hopes to accomplish by all of this?" Heather said as she looked around the room. "The bombs were just the first wave of the attack. The Hudson River Virus is bio-warfare meant to annihilate the population of the eastern United States. Their goal was and still is to wipe out most of the population of the eastern United States and then, take it."

"How do you know this? You have to be making this up," Sam pleaded. Everyone in the room looked shocked at Heather's statement.

"I wish I was. I found a file detailing the plan in one of those laptops you all snagged from a convoy. I've got the print-out in my backpack," Heather replied. She swallowed hard looking for the words to express her feelings. She never thought of herself as a great public speaker. "Look, what they did is criminal. They'll pay what they did to us, to our nation eventually, but what we need to concentrate on is figuring out a strategy to stop them. Major, what are you seeing?" Heather asked hoping it would refocus the conversation way from her.

"From the intelligence on the ground, an offensive could happen any day. We've done a good job cutting off their supply lines inside Kansas and Nebraska and they could be getting desperate to eliminate us. On the other hand, if I were them, I'd wait 'til spring. Fighting in the winter on the Kansas-Colorado boarder is difficult, if not impossible. Their main ground supply lines are all through the Rocky Mountains and soon they are going to be battling with the snow just to keep them open."

"So, we are pretty much in a waiting game?" Alton Matthews asked, already knowing the answer.

"That sums it up, pretty well." Major Beck replied as he started handing out a packet of information that he had brought with him.

By the time the group had gone through all of the information and figured out their strategy for the next couple of months, it had been more than four hours. With the lull in the conversation, Heather finally had to time to look back at Bill who she could tell looked confused. Someone who didn't know him well wouldn't notice, but she did. She worried about Bill who hadn't known any of the information they were discussing. She also wondered about his reaction to seeing Roger and Constantino. She mentally prepared herself for a fight on the drive home. Bill did not like being left out of the loop and this meeting proved, just how out of the loop he and most of Jericho really was.

Phil Constantino, who had spent most of the meeting making off-handed comments, was the first to leave. "I am out of here. It's obvious that you guys have no plan," Constantino said to Heather, Beck, and Alton with obvious frustration in his voice. "Contact me when you have something concrete to offer. Otherwise, leave me out of these little pep rallies," he arrogantly added. Before anyone could reply, Constantino was gone slamming the front door behind him.

Heather shook her head and Beck gave her knowing look.

"Don't listen to him. He's just being an ass," Roger reassured Heather as he rose to leave. Roger moved in closer to her and began to whisper, "If you talk to Emily, let her know I'm okay. I know she probably doesn't care, but…." Roger stopped mid-sentence unable to continue. It was obvious that he still loved Emily, even though he knew about the Jake-Emily relationship. Roger stepped away and started moving to the door. Before leaving Roger turned back for a moment. "Heather, stay safe," Roger said with genuine concern in his voice. He patted her on the back and walked out the door.

As others filtered out of the farmhouse, they came to speak to Heather. Somewhere along the way, Heather had developed a reputation as the guru for modern survival. Many had questions on how to build windmills for power, biodiesel compositions, and even how to build a pipe bomb. Others just wanted her take on what was happening in their area. Heather carried with her various plans in order to hand them out. Finally, all that was left was Heather, Major Beck, and Alton Matthews sitting around the table. Bill, finally seeing an opportunity to sit, sat down next to Heather and took a break from his perpetual guard duty.

"It was nice seeing you again, professor," Alton teased. "Seriously, it's good to see you alive. I'm sure you noticed Moe isn't here."

"Yea. What happened to him?" Heather reluctantly asked. She had lost so many friends in the past year it was hard to keep track.

"Hudson River," Alton replied. "I don't know how we are going to survive the winter. The Virus is running through town after town killing off my men. Those bastards are going to pay for this. I swear it."

"We'll get them Alton. We'll get them," Beck replied.

"Heather, days like these, I wish your father was still around." Alton stated. He had known Robert Lisinski when they both had served in the Kansas Air National Guard together and had a deep appreciation for the man. Alton rose to leave. "Baby-Girl, you be safe."

"I will, Alton." Heather replied. Alton's mention of her father brought back memories. Heather knew Alton from her father's days in the Guard. She had spent many a weekend out on his farm hanging out with his sons Christopher and Noah. When she connected again with Alton, they had spent a long, hot August evening telling stories about her father. She had appreciated it at the time because it was very rare that she had any opportunity to reminisce about her father anymore. Like Alton, Heather felt that things would've been a lot different if Robert Lisinski was still alive.

"Your father must have been one hell of man," Beck stated as he looked over to Heather noticing that she looked like she was miles away.

Beck voice brought her back to the present. "He was a great man. I sometimes wonder if things would be different now if my father was still alive," Heather answered knowing it would have been a hell of lot different.

"Why do you say that?" Bill asked trying to join the conversation.

"My dad would handle things a lot different than Constantino and probably me, too," Heather replied with a tinge of sadness in her voice.

"What do you mean?" Beck asked in confusion.

"My father was New Bern's Sheriff prior to his death. He would have fought for the survival of the town, but I know he wouldn't have condoned killing innocent people, no matter how bad things got. War with Jericho would've been the last thing on his mind. He was a different sort of man than Constantino," Heather replied. She thought about Constantino's treatment of her in New Bern and how close she had come to death. "What is so ironic is that Constantino was one of my father's best friends. Isn't it strange how fate works?"

"So, what happened to him?" Beck asked afraid to know the answer. He feared that Constantino had some hand in Robert Lisinski's death.

"Yea, you never told me what happened to your dad." Bill added curious to know more about Heather's past without thinking that Constantino might have had something to do with it.

Heather shook her head at Beck. "I know what you're thinking and no, Constantino had nothing to do with his death. My dad was killed in the line of a duty. It was a botched robbery that happened about six years ago. Two kids, who had no clue what they were doing, got caught. One of them was smart and gave up. The other one got into a shoot-out with my dad, killing my father and getting himself killed in the process."

"I'm sorry," Beck replied.

"It's been a long time. There's nothing to be sorry about. My father always said he was living on borrowed time. He was in the Kansas Air National Guard and served in almost every major conflict since Vietnam," Heather answered with little emotion. She had the feeling that she was living on borrowed time as well. By all accounts, she should be dead, but here she was talking to Major Beck. "As much as I love a stroll down memory lane, Bill and I had better get out of here. I don't want to travel back after dark."

"I understand," Beck nodded in agreement. He was worried about her safety. He liked Heather and in a different world and a different time, he would have pursued her romantically, but his heart was still attached to his missing wife and to rebuilding the nation. Beck didn't want to see Heather come to a bad end, but had a feeling that Heather felt like she was bound to her father's fate. Beck pushed those thoughts away and thought of a happier subject. As Heather was about to turn to Bill, Beck stopped her by gently grabbing her arm. "By the way, I have two gifts for you to bring back to Jericho," Beck mischievously stated.

"Two gifts?" Heather asked with a half-smile. "Unless they involve booze or food, I don't think anyone is going to appreciate them," Heather joked. She had no clue what Beck was planning. Heather used to enjoy surprises, but not any more. She'd rather know what was happening and when it was going to occur.

"I think you'll appreciate them. They should be somewhere around here," Beck replied as he got up from his seat. Beck hoped that the arrival of her "two gifts" might lift Heather's spirits or at the very least, perhaps ease her burden.

Heather with Bill and Beck in tow walked down the hall to the almost abandoned front parlor. Almost, everyone had left the farmhouse to make it back home. No one wanted to travel at night because it was too dangerous. When the trio made it to the parlor, Heather looked around for her "two gifts." She was surprised to find Jake Green and Robert Hawkins sitting in metal folding chairs talking. Jake and Hawkins both looked pretty good and no worse for wear. Hawkins had the same emotionless expression he usually carried and Jake didn't look quite as beaten down as he had before. Looking at the two of them, a flood of memories from four months ago came over her. Heather knew she had to say something.

"Jake?! Mr. Hawkins?!" Heather exclaimed trying to sound excited. They both looked up to see Heather and Bill. Shaking her head, Heather went on, "I thought you were permanently stuck in Texas for the duration? Your families are going to be so excited to have you back." The range of emotions that Heather was trying to hide was still evident on her face. The two men could see that she was excited to see them, but at the same time apprehensive.

"We didn't want to stay way any longer," Hawkins replied getting up to shake her hand. "We came up with the soldiers from Texas. Figured Jericho needs all hands on deck for what's coming." Hawkins had been surprised when Beck explained Heather's role in the Resistance. A year ago, when Hawkins arrived in Jericho, Heather had never been on his radar screen as someone to worry about. Jake had popped up as someone who could be trouble, but Heather never even crossed his mind. She didn't even become an issue for him until Jake had to use her to get that intelligence information out of Beck's office. He had his suspicions that Heather's background was a little more diverse than teaching the third grade.

Jake remained quiet as he looked at Heather. He didn't quite know what to say. From what Beck had told him, Heather had been through Hell and most of it was Jake's fault. Jake mentally added Heather to the list of people he needed to have a long talk with. He looked at his shoes and then back up to see her whispering to Bill as Hawkins shook Bill's hand.

Jake tried to think of something to say. "Long meeting, hu?" Jake asked as he finally got up and gave her a hug. _That was a dumb question!_ Jake thought to himself. Jake hadn't seen her in over four months and that was all he could come up with? He took a step back and looked at Heather once again hoping that a glimmer of the girl he met a year ago was still in there, but she wouldn't look at him straight.

Heather nodded in response, but said nothing. She couldn't look at Jake knowing if she did she might lose it. She wasn't sure what to say to him without sounding bitter or letting her emotions overcome her. She had hoped that when he returned she wouldn't be there, but here she was, bringing him back. _You are such a fool,_ Heather thought to herself. Heather looked at Bill who was giving his best supportive look. Heather smiled back at him, trying to non-verbally tell him not to worry.

"Enjoy!" Beck teased trying to enliven the mood of the group. He quickly gave Heather a hug and shook hands with the three men. "It was good to see you all again." Placing a protective hand on Heather, Beck went on, "Heather, I'll be in touch. Please be careful out there."

"Will do, Major," Heather answered with a half-smile. She signaled the men. "Alright boys, we better get going before it gets too late. We can all catch up in the car. Let's move on out." The three stepped out of the house and the sound of gunfire irrupted.


	3. Chapter 3

From the moment that Heather stepped out of the house, everything moved in seemingly slow motion as they began taking small arms fire

It's Not Over Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Jericho, its characters, or its plots. I am using them merely for entertainment purposes.

--

From the moment that Heather stepped out of the house, everything moved in seemingly slow motion as they began taking small arms fire. Bill had instinctually dived to the ground dragging Heather down with him and then attempted to shield Heather from the bullets. Heather reached for her handgun and looked around trying to figure out what was going on.

"Is everyone alright?" Heather called out as quietly as possible.

"We're okay, Heather. How about the two of you?" Jake asked, worry evident in his voice.

"Bill, are you okay?" Heather asked assuming he was okay. She heard no answer. He was motionless and Heather began to worry and started thinking the worst. "Bill. Bill, answer me this second! Are you okay?!" Heather sternly asked.

Bill finally moved slightly. "I think I was hit," Bill answered in obvious pain.

Immediately, Heather moved to get a better look at him trying to remain low and out of the line of fire. Heather could see an exit wound on his back. She winced at the sight of it. Taking a deep breath, she carefully turned him over to see where it entered. "Bill, it looks like a bullet went straight through your shoulder," Heather explained. "Look, we've got to get back into the farmhouse and out of this mess."

Jake, seeing that Bill had been hurt, slowly moved forward trying to remain as close to the ground as possible. He took Bill who was lying on his back now and grabbed him by the knees dragging him back inside. Heather followed close behind with gun still in hand, bringing her backpack with her.

Once inside, Heather went to work on Bill trying to remember her first aid training. She looked around the front parlor looking for something to prop under his feet. She found an old couch cushion sitting on the floor and grabbed it, placing it under Bill's feet. Heather then opened her backpack and pulled out a medical kit.

"Bill, stay with me," Heather urged as she started noticing that Bill was going into shock. At once she went to work on the wound that was bleeding, but not nearly as much as she expected. As she worked on Bill, applying gauze and pressure to the wounds, she felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Heather, give me Bill's rifle," Jake urgently requested. "I've got to go after whoever is shooting at us," Jake said as he glanced outside the door trying to see what was going on. Jake didn't like sitting around being a target. He wanted to get whoever had tried to hurt them.

"Jake, you're not going after those guys. Beck's men are already after them. Don't you hear the return fire? You going after them is only going to get yourself or one of Beck's men killed," Heather answered sternly. "We stay here," Heather ordered.

"I don't trust Beck or his men. How do we know that they aren't the one's shooting at us?" Jake asked looking clearly frustrated.

"Because you'd be dead!" Beck angrily interjected as kneeled down next to Heather to check on Bill. Everyone had forgotten that Beck was still in the farmhouse. "Look, my men can handle it. We didn't get you all the way back here from Texas to have you die before you even make it home. Once you're back in Jericho, we'll, you're Mama Green's problem."

"Then, who's shooting at us?" Jake asked clearly disgusted with having to sit around. He didn't like being a sitting duck.

"Ravenwood. The lookouts reported that a Humvee just drove up to our location. When they got out, my men recognized them and started firing. You guys stepped out at that moment and got caught by their return fire," Beck explained as he watched Heather stroke Bill's head trying to soothe him.

"Jake, listen to the Major," Hawkins agreed. "We should wait here. There is no point in getting ourselves in the middle of this fight."

Heather reached for Bill's rifle and handed it to Hawkins. "You're the look out. You know what to do," Heather told Hawkins. Heather could see that Jake was confused, but she didn't have time to deal with him at the moment. She needed to save Bill and she didn't trust Jake to keep it together.

"Bill, how are you holding up?" Heather asked worry filling her voice as she looked down on him.

"I've been better," Bill strained out. His face showed the obvious pain he was in.

"Don't talk Bill." Heather pleaded as she looked heavenward trying not to panic. "Do you remember the first time we met?" Heather asked trying to sound jovial. She had to help him take his mind off the pain. If distraction works on a third grader who's been hurt on the playground, Heather thought maybe it would work on Bill.

Bill shook his head no. He was really struggling to stay calm. Heather kept gently rubbing his hair trying to sooth him. She continued with the story.

"You gave me a speeding ticket. I'd been in town for maybe two months at most. I was driving Mike's 1970 Cherry Red Dodge Charger. Man, that was a beautiful car," Heather declared smiling at the memory. "Mike hardly ever let me drive that car. Anyway, you caught me on that road going south of town and pulled me over. I tried everything to get out of that ticket. I cried. I flirted which I've never been good at. Yet, you still gave me that ticket," Heather knew she was rambling, but it seemed to be working. Bill was concentrating on her face. Even Jake was a bit distracted.

"I remember now," Bill answered in a low voice. "I'd just joined the force. I'm sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry about Bill. You were just doing your job," Heather reassured him. "Anyway, Mike paid the ticket."

Jake looked at Heather and Bill puzzled, "Who's Mike?" Jake asked in confusion.

"Mike Anderson. Gray's son," Heather answered. Before Heather could continue, a couple of Beck's men came around the corner. Hawkins recognized them and didn't fire. Beck stood up to receive report from his men.

"We're all clear," One of the soldiers declared. "Sir, we got them," the soldier said looking at Beck.

"Good," Beck replied. "Cannibalize as much of the equipment as you can from the bodies and vehicle. Remember, take everything that wasn't heavily damaged."

"Yes, Sir!" the soldier replied and the two men left.

"I'd call the medic, but you did as good a job as he could do," Beck said as he looked at Heather.

"We need to get him to a doctor," Heather declared as she looked down at Bill. "Bill, honey, are you still with me?"

"Yeah, I'm here," Bill replied groggily as he fought the urge to pass out.

"Look, we've got get him to a doctor. We're about two hours away from Jericho. Do you think Bill will make it that long? Anyone know about shoulder wounds?" Heather asked looking at Jake and Hawkins.

"To be honest, if there is someone closer, I'd take him there. We've been gone this long, what's one more night?" Hawkins replied. Jake nodded in agreement.

"Do you know any doctors close by?" Jake asked.

"Kind of. He's a Vet, but I'd trust him with my life," Heather replied as she kept stroking Bill's head trying to keep him calm.

"Who is he?" Jake asked.

"Alton Matthews son, Noah," Heather replied. "He's about fifteen minutes away." Heather started gathering up her things back into her bag and got ready to go.

"We'd better get going," Jake declared as he looked with concern at Bill and Heather who was still on the floor with him.

--

Alton Matthews' Farm Four Hours Later

"Good to see you on your feet, Bill," Jake said seeing Bill coming down the stairs. Bill's arm was in a make-shift sling and his hair was mussed up. He had been passed out for the past two hours in one of Alton's spare bedrooms.

"Honey, we saved you some dinner. It's in the kitchen whenever you want to eat," Alton's wife, Mary Ellen said in her usual sweet demeanor.

"Thanks Ma'am, but I don't have much of an appetite at the moment," Bill replied with a nod. Heather quickly got up.

"Come sit down," Heather said as she went to Bill and guided him to sit next to her on the Matthews' couch placing his bad arm toward the end of the couch. She gave him a couple of pillows to place under his arm for support to keep pressure off his wound.

Jake watched, from his end of the couch, Heather's care of Bill and the looks they gave each other realizing for the first time that they were more than colleagues or even friends. For the first time since Black Jack, Jake felt jealous of another man. Jake had never really thought about Heather pursuing a relationship with anyone, but him. He knew she was smart and beautiful, but he always thought Heather was above it. Like, she was almost ethereal.

"What are we going to do about Phil?" Alton asked once Heather settled down back on the couch in between Bill and Jake. Bill reached his good arm around Heather and Heather laid her head on his shoulder.

"What do you mean, Mr. Matthews?" Jake asked as he tried to follow the conversation.

Ignoring Jake's question, Heather answered, "Nothing. We can't touch him."

"You mean, Constantino is still alive?" Jake asked in alarm.

"Yes, he's alive and in charge in New Bern," Chris answered. "He's being kept around for political expediency."

"Heather, why can't we touch him?" Jake asked clearly concerned. Of all the things he figured that would've been taken care of in the last four months was getting rid of Constantino.

"Like Chris said, political expediency. If we assassinate him, we are liable to have New Bern start attacking us and who knows what or who we'd get to replace him. I can handle Constantino," Heather answered lifting her head a little to see Jake's face.

"Jake. May I call you Jake?" Alton asked.

Jake nodded.

"Better the devil you know than the devil you don't," Alton stated.

Jake was starting to get angry. How could these people talk about political expediency about a man who killed his father and so many other good people? "Heather, I can't believe you'd be so willing to go along with this," Jake said in anger.

"I make compromises. I do what needs to be done for the survival of Jericho," Heather said trying to remain calm, but her blood was beginning to boil.

"What about the principle?! That man killed my father! That man tried to take our homes. How can you make deals with him?!" Jake asked looked at Heather in disbelief.

"Jake, you act like you're the only one who's been hurt. What about me? Huh?" Heather asked. She stood up and continued. "Do you know what it is like to have people you trusted, people your father trusted turn on you and put a price on your head for standing up for what was right? Do you know how close I was to Constantino growing up Jake? He was my godfather, Jake! He was one my dad's best friends. Do you know what I had to endure? Do you know what I sacrificed to try to make Jericho safe?" Heather asked in anger. She clearly was upset.

"Heather," Jake said.

"I was beaten and whipped by a man who I thought loved me like a daughter," Heather said as she lifted her shirt to show Jake her back which was covered with scars where she'd been cut and whipped. Some of the scars still had tinges of red. "Those are the scars you can see. There are scars that I carry with me inside. I've compromised Jake. Something, you've been lucky enough not to have to do. I've compromised my soul, Jake, for this cause. What have you done?" Heather accused as tears ran down her cheeks. She quietly put her shirt back down and walked out Alton's front door.

Alton looked at Jake, "That girl gave up everything for Jericho. She's put her life on the line. You know she could have gone along with New Bern's attack. She'd probably be in Constantino's inner circle and you, your family, your neighbors would probably be dead. Remember that."

Bill looked at Jake and shook his head. "I'd better go after her," Bill pronounced as he started getting up.

"Bill, just stay here," Noah replied. "I've known Heather a long time. Best thing to do is let her go be by herself."

"I really screwed up, didn't I?" Jake asked to no one in particular. He hadn't realized what Heather had gone through in the past six months. He started to realize he didn't know much about Heather at all.

"Its okay, Jake," Alton replied. "She's needed to get out some of that anger she's been holding inside. She's not one to hold a grudge."

"I'm going to go outside and get some fresh air," Jake answered.

"Good idea," Hawkins answered. He'd been sitting over in a chair in the corner of the room watching. He wasn't one to get involved in a conversation unless it was necessary.

Jake went outside and sat on the steps of Alton Matthews front porch looking out into the darkness waiting for Heather to return. When she walked out, he had learned more about Heather in the past twenty four hours than he really knew about her in all the months he knew her. Everything he learned about Heather made him surer that she was one of the truly good people left in the world. It scared him how much he needed her. He'd never be good enough for Heather.

Jake knew he should be happy to be home or at least close to home, but it seems that all the things he had left behind were still waiting here to be dealt with. He had spent so much of the past year just trying to survive that he hadn't really spent the time to deal with the demons that had controlled him or deal with the feelings that haunted him. Everyone said he was a different man, but he certainly didn't feel like one. He felt like the same screw-up and today was no exception. Heather wasn't right though. He'd compromised, especially in those months after New Bern.

When he had arrived the day before, Beck had sat him down to discuss what was going on. Beck explained that Heather had taken over the Rangers and that she did a good job, but knew that people would still look to him for leadership. Beck made it clear that if Jake chose to take over the Rangers that he needed to make her his right hand. Heather was thoughtful, diligent, and careful. All things Jake wasn't. She'd stepped in when there was a clear vacuum of leadership. Jake knew that if he was going to work with Heather, he was going to have to confess everything. It was the only way.

Heather quietly came out of the darkness and sat next to Jake. She didn't say a word, but just sat quietly next to him looking out into the same darkness.

"How's Bill?" Heather asked.

"He's doing okay. I heard Mary Ellen send him to bed," Jake replied.

"Good. He needs to get his rest," Heather said with no emotion.

Jake wasn't sure what to say to Heather. There was so much he wanted to say to her. He owed her so much, but he wasn't sure how to go about explaining what was in his head or his heart.

"Bill can be a bit obnoxious, but he's a good guy," Heather said.

"He is," Jake answered. Jake took a breath, "So you and Bill are dating?" Jake asked.

Heather took a moment to think about how to reply. "I guess you could call it that," Heather answered.

"That's nice," Jake answered still with no emotion. He had so many questions. "You dated Mike Anderson?"

"Yeah, we were engaged" Heather answered looking out towards the Matthew's barn.

"What happened?" Jake asked. Mike had been a few years behind Jake in school and he had never really paid much attention to him. From what he knew Mike was a good guy, but that was about it.

"He got into a huge fight with his dad. He was tired of working for his dad. He left for Texas about six months before the bombs," Heather answered. Everything had become before and after the bombs. It seemed like an eternity since Mike had left. "Anyway, he left and never came back. That sort of ended our relationship."

Jake shook his head. Why didn't he know about Heather being engaged to someone? Why didn't someone mention it to him? Then something clicked in his head. Emily had warned him not to hurt Heather.

"Gray Anderson and I don't get along. Just so you know Jake. He blames me for Mike leaving. I blame him for it," Heather explained.

"Gray Anderson is an idiot," Jake replied.

"No argument there," Heather responded

"I've screwed up things. Didn't I?" Jake asked abruptly changing subjects. He watched Heather.

"What do you mean?" Heather asked not sure if he meant in general or with her specifically.

"You, me, us," Jake answered.

"Jake. Talking about tonight or in general?" Heather asked.

"Both," Jake answered.

"Jake, there was no 'us' to screw up,'" Heather replied. "You made it pretty clear that you weren't interested. I figured you handled things the way you wanted to. You got what you wanted Jake. You've got Emily. You're the town hero."

"No I didn't," Jake answered. "I got what I thought I wanted, but sometimes, what you want is not what you need."

"What am I supposed to say to that Jake?" Heather asked shaking her head anger tenting her voice.

"Nothing. I'm not good at this. I am not good at talking about things," Jake replied disgusted with himself.

"Look Jake, everyone assumes things about other people. You don't even know me. We might as well be strangers," Heather responded. She came back to the steps and sat back down.

Jake looked at Heather. "I knew when I met you on that bus that you had the power to change my life and to be honest I ran away. I went with what was familiar instead of going with what was right. I've regretted it ever since."

Heather sat in silence. She wasn't sure what to say. That sure didn't sound like Jake Green.

"Say something," Jake whispered into the darkness.

"What do you want Jake? Do you want absolution? You have it. You're forgiven," Heather answered said as she stood up.

Jake stood up and faced her. "That's not what I want," Jake answered, in a hushed tone, as he went to kiss her.

Heather turned her head before their lips could meet and started to walk away. "I'm sorry, but it's all I've got to offer," Heather said as she walked back inside leaving Jake in stunned silence.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

It's Not Over Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Jericho, its characters, or its plots. I am merely borrowing them for entertainment purposes.

Rating: PG-13 for language and content.

Note: This update to the story is probably going to be the last for awhile. Real Life writing commitments are taking up my time. Look for an update in July.

--

"You're still up?" Mary Ellen Matthews asked as she saw Heather sitting at the kitchen table with a laptop and papers scattered around in front of her.

"Yeah, I couldn't sleep. I thought if I started working on breaking through the laptop that Beck gave me today, I might be able to find some answers and be able to sleep."

"What kind of answers are you looking for?" Mary Ellen asked leaning against the kitchen counter near the refrigerator.

"I want to know why those guys found us today. What tipped them off as to our location? This laptop was in their possession. Hopefully, it holds the answer," Heather replied leaning back in her chair.

Mary Ellen reached into her freezer and grabbed a container. "You want some ice cream? I made it a couple of days ago with the last of the sugar."

"That sound's good," Heather replied.

Mary Ellen got out a couple of bowls and spoons. As she scooped out the ice cream she turned to Heather, "Why do you need to know tonight?"

"I don't know. I just do."

"It's not your fault," Mary Ellen said referring to Bill's gun shot wound.

"I know it isn't, but I still feel guilty."

"There's nothing to feel guilty about. This is war. People get hurt and killed.

"I know. It's just that…."

"You care about him," Mary Ellen finished as she sat down in chair next to Heather and handed her a bowl of ice cream.

"So is everyone asleep?" Heather asked trying to change topics. She took a spoonful of ice cream and closed her eyes as the smooth, sweet cream coated her tongue.

"Yeah, the men folk are all asleep," Mary Ellen answered. "So, how far along are you?"

"What?" Heather asked not sure what she was asking.

"Well, you're pregnant aren't you?" Mary Ellen asked. "I mean your emotional outburst earlier and the fact that you didn't touch any of Alton's home brew are pretty good indicators."

"Because I got pissed off at Jake and I didn't have a beer, you think I'm pregnant?" Heather asked incredulously.

"I've known you all your life. I know you well enough to know when things aren't right. So, have you told him?"

"You think if I'd told him, I'd be here right now?" Heather asked with a laugh.

"Well, you've got that boy scared of you. You think he's going to gain say you?"

"Probably not," Heather admitted.

"Aren't you excited?"

"Not really. I mean my dream in life was to have a family, but in the middle of a civil war, it just doesn't seem particularly practical. I've spent the past year trying not to think about the future."

"Having children anytime is not practical, but you'll do fine."

"I don't love him. I mean what do I do? I'm a terrible person aren't' I? I had sex with a man I don't love. What does that say about me?"

"You're human," Mary Ellen said. "You care about him right?"

"Yes. I care about him a great deal," Heather answered.

"That's a start. He seems like a good guy."

"He is."

"Things will work out."

"But how?"

"They just do," Mary Ellen answered as she watched Heather with a look of ecstasy eat another spoonful of ice cream. "You really are…"

"You really are what?" Bill answered from the entrance to the kitchen.

"Enjoying this ice cream," Heather answered giving Mary Ellen a pleading look. "Here, have a bite." Heather held up a spoonful to Bill as he opened his mouth.

"Why aren't you in bed?" Bill asked as he sat down at the other empty chair next to Heather.

"I'm trying to figure out how those guys found us today."

"Any luck?"

"Yes and No. I've discovered that the men who were after us were a bunch of perverted sons of bitches. You should see the pictures on this computer. Anyway, once I got beyond all the naked pictures, I found the files I was looking for. It seems they were under orders to capture us, not kills us. It also seems that someone called them and told them when and where the meeting was going to take place. Unfortunately, it was an anonymous tip, so there's no name attached."

"That's real helpful," Bill replied.

"Actually, it is. I have had my suspicions, but this proves it."

"What suspicions?" Mary Ellen asked.

"One of the members of the Resistance is double-crossing us."

"Who?" Mary Ellen asked in fear for her family's safety.

"My bets are on Constantino," Bill speculated.

"Good observation," Heather said in surprise. She started shutting down the computer and picking up the papers around her.

"I didn't get that spiffy degree in criminal justice for nothing," Bill said with a smile.

"So what are we going to do about it?" Mary Ellen asked.

"I've got to talk to Beck and then we'll see," Heather answered. She turned to Bill, "How's the shoulder?"

"Hurts like hell. I can't sleep."

"I'm sorry we don't have anything stronger. When we get back to Jericho tomorrow, we'll take you to the clinic. I know Kenchy's got some strong meds."

"Okay. Why don't you come to bed?" Bill asked.

"I am right now," Heather replied shoving the laptop and the rest of her papers inside her backpack.

"Goodnight, you two," Mary Ellen said as the Heather and Bill left the kitchen.

Heather turned for a moment and waived goodnight to Mary Ellen.

Mary Ellen mouthed the words, 'Tell him' and smiled after her.

--

In Jericho the next day

Chapter 4

As Heather and Jake walked up to his parent's house, Jake's mind was flooded with memories. Some were from the past year and some were from his years growing up on this block. He so badly wished he could have a few of those moments back. What he wouldn't give to have a few more minutes with his father. They both misunderstood each other so much.

It was only Heather and Jake. They had already dropped Bill off at the medical center to be checked out and dropped Hawkins off at his house to his awaiting family. Wanting to save gas, they had left the Bronco parked at the medical center and had made the long and quiet walk to Jake's house. Jake wondered if his family would be awaiting him and what their reactions would be.

"Here you go," Heather said breaking the silence that had hung between them since the night before.

"It looks the same," Jake commented still not making a move to the house. He had been surprised to find the town in good shape. When he'd left, Jericho was going into full military lock down. Now, it was mostly cleared of the vestiges of J&R and the military presence that had nearly suffocated the very life of the town.

"Well, it's only been four months. What'd you expect?" Heather asked even though she understood what he meant.

"I don't know," Jake asked. He really hadn't known what to expect. He looked at Heather who was looking down the block and a couple of children playing in a front yard.

Jake, still not making a move to go inside, looked at the scene himself. It seemed so surreal when compared to the world outside of Jericho. Jericho was like heaven compared to everything he'd seen on the road back from Texas. Heather turned to Jake.

"Jake, I want to apologize to you for last night. You didn't deserve it."

"Sure I did," Jake replied. "If we're apologizing, I'd best say I'm sorry about last night as well. I shouldn't have been so presumptuous."

"Don't worry about it Jake. I know what you've been through the past four months. If you're a little weird, it's to be expected," Heather half-heartedly joked. She knew that Jake had pretty much been in house arrest for the past four months as Texas debated what to do with him and Hawkins.

"I'm weird now. That's new," Jake laughed. Only Heather would call him weird.

"Well, I can't come up with a better adjective at the moment. I only had a few hours of sleep last night. Ask me tomorrow and I promise I'll come up with something better. Anyway, you'd better get in there. Everyone will be excited to see you. You know that. Your mom was worried sick about you," Heather assured him. "I had to give her reports letting her know what I knew about you."

"Thanks for reassuring my mom," Jake said in grateful tone.

"No problem.".

"Why don't you come in with me?" Jake asked. He didn't want to go in alone. After four months away and no chance to say goodbye when he left, he was afraid of his reception. With Heather there, he hoped his mother would go easy on him.

"Jake. It's only your mother. She loves you," Heather answered as she awkwardly patted him on the shoulder. She really didn't want to go inside with him.

Jake was inwardly pleased that Heather had touched him even if it was just for a brief moment. "Please," Jake begged hoping to stay in her presence for a little while longer.

"Okay," Heather relented. "I'll come in with you, but I can only stay for a few minutes. I'm supposed to pick up Bill and take him home."

The two of them headed for the back door. Jake knocked as he found his mother in the kitchen, as usual, working on something or other. As soon as Gail heard the knock, she turned toward the door and saw Jake.

"Oh, my God Jake! You're home!" Gail exclaimed as she embraced Jake. She held on tight for a full minute and then looked back to where Heather was standing. Heather was smiling at the scene. "Thank you, Heather. I know you are responsible for this," Gail said as she went and embraced Heather. Heather could feel the warmth of affection radiate from Gail. Gail knew from Eric that Heather had been working with Beck to try to get the two men home. From the little she'd understood, Texas wanted to hold them. The reasons weren't clear to Gail.

"Don't thank me. Thank Beck and the Texas National Guard," Heather explained as Gail let go.

"Oh, come on in the both of you," Gail requested as she grabbed both by the arms. Turning to Jake, "I've missed you so much. No more trips to strange places. I need you home." Gail had been so worried about her son for the past four months. Losing Johnston had broken her spirit, but losing Jake or Eric would have killed her.

"I promise, Mom," Jake promised smiling at Heather who was watching mother and son interact. "Though, I can't say that Texas is all that strange a place."

"Jake, anywhere outside of Kansas is strange these days. How's Bill?" Gail asked turning to Heather and changing topics. "Eric said he went with you. Did you bring him back in one piece?"

"Kind of," Heather said sheepishly. "He was shot in the shoulder. That's why we didn't make it back until today."

"Oh, no! Is he going to be okay?" Gail asked with true concern in her voice. "Bea is going to be so furious with that boy."

"Oh, the gun shot isn't going to kill him, but his mom might," Heather joked. Bea Kohler loved her boys, but she especially was attached to Bill. Bill was her youngest, her baby. Heather still wasn't sure if Bill's mama's boy status was endearing or aggravating.

Jake watched the interaction between Heather and his Mom. The two seemed a lot closer as compared to before. One thing he'd noticed before Heather had left for New Bern was a distance between Heather and his parents. He figured at the time his parents didn't know Heather very well, but with the revelation that Heather had been engaged to Gray's son at one time he figured that they probably weren't sure of her loyalties. Loyalties in this town meant everything.

"Heather, I take it you'll be here for dinner?" Gail asked. Since Gail had come back permanently to Jericho, Heather and Gail had taken to eating dinner together. Gail had started inviting Heather to dinner as a way of fishing for information about Jake, but as she got to know Heather, Gail was really enjoying her company. There was also some practicality to the arrangement as they both were single women living alone and making dinner for one person was a waste of resources.

Heather hesitated for a moment as she thought about the implications. She looked at Jake who was standing behind his mother shaking his head yes. "Of course," Heather answered against her better judgment. She was trying to get away from Jake, not spend more time with the man.

"You two eat together often?" Jake asked with a bit of confusion. Jake had no idea that they had become close. He wasn't sure he liked the idea. Jake's mom had more dirt on him than anyone alive including Emily.

Gail smiled. "Yes, except for the nights when Bill is wining and dining her."

"Gail," Heather whined. "There's not a whole lot of wining and dining with Bill. Mostly, its eating dinner with him and his mom, holding hands on the couch, and playing through Bea's endless collection of board games."

"God that sounds like the eight grade" Jake joked.

"It really is," Heather quipped.

"Heather," Gail chastised in a motherly tone. "Really! Now don't complain that Bill is a perfect gentleman. It's a rare find. Anyway, we don't need any more members of the pregnant mamas club."

Jake smirked at Heather happy that it was Heather who was in trouble. "So, who's in the pregnant mama's club?"

"Who isn't?" Heather sarcastically asked mentally adding herself to the list.

Gail started to beam. "Mary Bailey for one. Oh, it's so good that you got back now. Your brother and Mary are getting married in a week. I'm so excited; some good news for once!"

Heather looked apologetically at Jake. "I'm sorry Jake that I didn't tell you about that."

"No, worries," Jake answered. Between getting shot at and their confrontation last night, there hadn't been much time to discuss happenings in Jericho. "Anyone else I should know about?"

"Mimi Richmond," Heather threw in. She wasn't about to out herself. No one other than Kenchy knew of the pregnancy and he had sworn secrecy.

"Well, there are probably more, but they just haven't been announced," Gail said.

"How's Emily?" Jake asked his mother. Emily had been in his thoughts as often as Heather in the past four months. He constantly debated with himself if or when he returned to Jericho what relationship he wanted with Emily.

"As far as I know she's okay. I don't talk to her much these days," Gail said apologetically. Since Jake had left, Emily had pretty much avoided the entire Green clan for reasons she'd never explained.

"What do you know Heather?" Jake asked.

"I guess she's okay. Like Gail, I don't talk to her much anymore," Heather uncomfortably answered. She really didn't want to discuss the implosion of her friendship with Emily. Heather, deciding that she needed to get away from this conversation and away from Jake, made a move to the door. "I'd better get going. I promised Bill I would pick him up."

"Why don't I go with you, Heather?" Jake asked not wanting to separate from Heather just yet.

"But you just got here," Heather reminded him. She was going to shake Jake off if it was the last thing she did.

"Please take him with you. If he sits around here with me for the next four hours, he's just going to drive me nuts. As long as I know he's with you, I know he's safe," Gail responded thwarting Heather. Gail could sense that her son had feelings for Heather. She also knew Heather well enough to sense how uncomfortable she was with Jake. It was pretty obvious to this mother that these two were feeling each other out.

"Alright, come on Jake," Heather said rolling her eyes as she motioned him to follow. After last night, all she could think about was getting away from Jake, but now he was coming with her to take Bill home and she was going to eat dinner with him. If she was honest with herself, she didn't really want to get away from him yet either. Heather still felt that familiar attraction pulling at her again.

"Come back around 6:00 p.m.," Gail said with a big smile. "Your brother and Mary will be here, too."

--

At Jericho Medical Center:

"Jake, you're home!" Eric said as he ran to Jake and gave him a big hug. "Have you seen Mom?" Eric asked as he let go of Jake.

"Just came from there. She said dinner is at six," Jake answered looking his brother over. Eric didn't look any worse for wear. "What are you doing here?" Jake asked.

"Someone came by and told me that Heather and Bill were back and that Bill was hurt. I came to make sure he's okay," Eric explained. "No one mentioned that you were with them. How's Hawkins?"

"He's okay. We already took him home," Jake replied. "I came back with Heather to pick Bill up. Has Kenchy had a chance to take a look at him?" Jake asked looking for Heather who had not entered the building. She had been stopped outside by Jimmy.

"No, Kenchy's been stuck delivering a baby for the past 40 minutes," Eric answered. "I think he has to do a c-section or something."

"Who's?" Jake asked wondering if it was Mimi or someone else he knew.

"No one you'd know," Eric answered. There were a lot of babies being born these days. Birth Control of any sort was non-existent even in the days of J&R.

"I hear I'm going to be an Uncle. Congratulations," Jake said patting his brother on the back. Jake wondered how Eric was feeling about it.

"Yeah. It's pretty exciting, but still kind of scary you know?" Eric said referring to April's death earlier in the year. Eric was petrified that something was going to happen.

"Mom said you're getting married in a week?" Jake asked deciding he didn't want to delve into that particular topic at the moment.

"Yes," Eric said. "That reminds me. You want to be my best man?"

"Are you sure Eric? I mean you weren't too excited about me being the best man the first time around."

"You were a different person. I was a different person," Eric explained as he gave his brother another hug. "I would really appreciate you standing up for me."

"I'd be honored," Jake responded as he wiped his eyes of tears trying to form. It was hard to believe that they had spent so much time wrapped up in sibling rivalry. Jake knew it had been a stupid waste along with a lot of what he'd done in the past.

"So, where's Heather?" Eric asked looking around and past Jake.

"I don't know. She got stopped on the way in," Jake replied.

As Eric was about to suggest that they go look for her, Heather appeared at the front door with her hands covered in grease and dirt. "Look, who the cat dragged in," Eric teased.

Jake turned around and took a look at Heather who didn't look too pleased. "What happened?"

"I was gone for a day. One day and those guys have already screwed up my work. I've kept those patrol cars running on bio-diesel, but they're pretty finicky. Unfortunately, someone decided to start greasing parts that didn't need greasing and this is the result," Heather said holding out her hands. "Is Bill ready to go home yet?" Heather asked.

"No. He hasn't been seen yet. Kenchy's been busy delivering a baby," Eric explained.

"That's exciting," Heather said with little emotion. Even though Heather had come to grips with expecting a child, the mention of babies and pregnancy made her uneasy. She wasn't ready to announce it to the world and she was always afraid that she was going to let something slip.

"Not planning on joining the rest of the procreating group?" Eric jokingly asked.

"Uh, No," Heather replied uncomfortably. "I'm going to check on Bill," Heather said looking past Eric and toward the exam room where she had left Bill.

"What I'd say?" Eric asked perplexed by her reaction.

Jake merely shook his head and sat down in a chair in the hallway.

Heather quietly walked into the hospital room where Bill was laying down on his back. When she'd left Bill, a nurse had just given him some pain meds. From the looks of it, Bill was finally getting some rest. Heather gingerly sat down in a chair just inside the door and watched Bill sleep as his shirtless chest rose up and down. She couldn't believe how brave Bill had been yesterday and even today. She knew he was an obvious pain, but without any strong pain meds he'd had to suffer through. Heather closed her eyes for a brief moment as exhaustion threatened to overwhelm her.

Heather looked again at a man who had almost sacrificed his life for her and felt so guilty. She felt guilty because she hadn't told him about the baby and she felt guilty because she didn't see a future with Bill. As much as she cared about him, their relationship was going nowhere. When she'd dreamed about having a family, it was always with a man she was passionate about. It tore her up inside what she'd done to herself and to Bill. Heather felt tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Hey beautiful," Bill groggily called out with a sleepy smile. As he looked at Heather more closely, he realized she was crying. "What's the matter?" Bill said struggling to get up.

"Don't get up Bill, I'm okay," Heather replied motioning him to sit down.

"It's not your fault," Bill said referring to the gunshot wound in shoulder.

"It is my fault. It should have been me," Heather said wiping tears from her eyes with the backs of her hands.

"That's stupid. I was there to protect you and I did my job," Bill said.

"Bill, I knew the moment that I double-crossed Constantino that my days were numbered. I'm perfectly willing to lay down my life for those I care about, but I don't want the people I care about in danger."

"You care about me?" Bill quipped.

"Yes, Bill I care about you," Heather replied with a smile, "but don't let it go to your head."

"I know better," Bill said in a lighthearted tone. "Though you know, it still isn't your fault."

Heather looked down again and rubbed her eyes of the tears that had been escaping. Bill looked at her and felt sorry that she was in so much pain. He really wanted to comfort her.

"You look tired. Why don't you lie down next to me?" Bill asked as he scooted over in the bed and patted the open space next to her.

"I'm dirty," Heather replied as she rubbed her dirty, greasy fingers on her jeans.

"So? I haven't had a shower in two days. Who cares?" Bill said.

Heather wordlessly gave in putting down the rail and climbing in next to Bill. She put her head on his good shoulder. She had to admit to herself that she felt safe with him. _Maybe Mary Ellen is right?_ Heather thought to herself.

After Heather had been in with Bill for a good twenty minutes, Jake decided to see what had happened to her. As he opened the door, he looked at the scene in front of him. Heather was cuddled up against Bill with her eyes closed. Bill himself was passed out and slightly snoring. Jake couldn't help, but smile at the pair. For the first time, Jake realized that Heather may have moved on. Jake didn't blame her. She'd never have to worry about Bill choosing something or someone over her. He'd never put her in danger. Jake had done all of the above and then some.

As Jake was about to leave the room, he saw Heather stir. "Jake," Heather sleepily said.

"Hey, I'm sorry to bother you. I just was getting worried," Jake whispered trying not to wake Bill.

Heather nodded and gently removed herself from Bill's grasp trying not to wake him. Once she closed the door, Heather finally spoke. "No problem. I've got to go take a shower anyway."

"Go on ahead. Eric and I can hold down the fort," Jake said nodding at his brother.

After Heather had left, Jake and Eric had sat down in a couple of chairs outside Bill's room and continued their conversation. They talked about what had happened in Texas and what had been going on in Jericho. Eric pretty much told him what he'd already knew. They had been cut-off from the Cheyenne power grid and were living off of wind generated power and bio-diesel. They were struggling to keep everyone fed and everyone safe.

Heather had been gone for awhile and Jake started getting worried about her. "I think I am going to go check on Heather," Jake said as he got up and went into the locker room to check on her.

As Jake entered, he could feel the hot steam from the shower hit his face. It wasn't terribly foggy, but it was rather humid. He heard a feminine voice, Heather's he assumed, singing a song he didn't recognize and he smiled. Of course, Heather would sing in the shower. Before he could call out for Heather, she was standing before him in nothing, but a towel. Her hair was wet and he could still see droplets of water on her skin.

"Jake, what's the matter?" Heather asked with concern as she used another towel to dry her hair. "Is Bill alright?"

Jake took a deep breath trying to get his bearings. He looked down at her feet and noticed she was wearing pink toe nail polish which for some reason hit him as odd. Heather was usually so practical and nail polish just didn't seem that way. He finally answered, "He's fine. I, we were just starting to get worried."

"Oh, I'm sorry. There was a leaky faucet that I ended up fixing before I took a shower," Heather explained as she pointed to one of the sinks.

"Oh," Jake could only manage. Fixing a faucet was such a Heather thing to do.

Heather started drying herself off the rest of the way. She reached into one of the lockers and grabbed a set of clothes.

"You have a locker here?" Jake asked as he caught a glimpse of her cleavage as she bent over to reach into the locker.

"Yeah. I always have to come over and fix things," Heather explained as she went to a bathroom stall to get dressed. "Jake was there something else you needed?"

"Uh, I should probably leave you alone, shouldn't I?" Jake asked as he started backing away.

"You're welcome to stay. I mean if I remember right, I think I invaded the bathroom right after you took a shower once," Heather smiled as she dug through her clothes for her bra. She remembered that moment so well. She had felt so bashful in his presence. She must have seemed like a ninny to him.

"And, if I remember right, you refused to look at me," Jake said with a laugh. It was one of the best moments about those first days after the bombs went off. He'd never had a woman act that nervous around him.

"That's 'cause if I had looked at you, I would have just melted right there on that floor!" Heather exclaimed with a giggle from inside one of the bathroom stalls.

"What about now?" Jake teased trying to hide his interest.

"Jake," Heather chastised. "Come on, you know you're still hot."

"So, you think I'm hot?" Jake said as he sat down on a bench in front of the lockers.

"Jake, what's up with you anyway? I mean you barely talked to me prior to you leaving, but all the sudden you can't leave me alone for the past twenty-four hours. What gives?" Heather asked as she came out from the bathroom stall dressed in a clean black t-shirt and jeans. She sat down next to Jake on the bench.

"I am weird, aren't I?" Jake said laughing at himself and realizing that Heather's observation earlier was pretty spot on.

"If it makes you feel any better, I think we're all a little weird these days," Heather replied with a smile. Heather's smile faded as she heard the door open.

"Look, what we have here? I wonder what Bill would say about this…situation," Gray said in snide voice.

Jake stood up and looked at Gray giving him a nasty look. "Nothing, Gray. Why don't you leave her alone?"

"I would, but I need some information first," Gray said as he looked at the two of them again. Gray loved it. "I need to know what happened at that meeting yesterday and why one my deputies is sitting out there with a bullet wound in the shoulder," he demanded as he pointed out toward the hall.

"Gray…," Jake said as he started to take a few steps forward toward Gray.

"Jake, stay out of this," Heather interrupted. "Gray, we are having a status meeting at 9:00 AM tomorrow. If there was anything earth shattering, I would've come to you right away, but nothing important happened."

"What about Bill?" Gray asked accusingly. He gave her a dirty look.

"He got hit when some Ravenwood guys showed up as we were leaving. Don't give me that look."

"I am concerned over your loyalties," Gray said. "From the looks of it, you have aligned herself pretty clearly with the Greens. I don't like it."

"I haven't allied myself with anyone. I don't play politics Gray," Heather responded in anger standing up to face Gray. "I'm just about helping people. That's why Beck put me in charge of the security force. He didn't want to see the Jericho's security become compromised by your inability to see beyond your own popularity as mayor."

"Now see here!" Gray said pointing his finger at Heather.

"No, you see! I will not be pushed around by the likes of you!" Heather yelled. Heather was fed up with Gray. She knew in her heart she didn't have the stomach for politics. She took a moment to collect her thoughts and came to a startling conclusion. If Gray didn't like Heather, he sure wouldn't like Jake being in charge again, "I quit."

"What?!" Gray said.

"You heard me. I'm finished," Heather said in a calm voice.

"You can't be serious," Gray said.

"Yeah, I am. It's Jake's Rangers. He should be in charge of them."

"Me?" Jake asked.

"Him?" Gray asked.

"Yep. Like I said, I'm done. When Beck asked me to take over, it was only supposed to be temporary," Heather replied feeling rather good about this decision. "Gray, you win. I quit."

"I didn't want this!" Gray exclaimed realizing that he'd pushed her too far. He sure as hell didn't want Jake back in charge. "I'm just tired of being out of the loop."

"You've always known as much as I do. There isn't some secret conspiracy against you. You just don't trust people who don't kiss your ass. I already worshiped one Anderson and I'm not about to worship another. I'm done"

Before Gray could formulate an answer, the door opened once again and then entered Bill. "What's going on?" Bill asked looking at the three of them.

"Nothing!" Gray, Heather, and Jake said in unison. Heather rolled her eyes.

"I heard yelling. I got concerned," Bill said looking at just Heather this time. "Anyway, Kenchy said I'm free to go."

"Good," Heather responded. "Why don't you three boys go out to the hall and I'll get my shoes on, okay?"

The all three nodded and walked out the door single file. Heather took a deep breath and started putting her socks and shoes on. For once in the past four months, she felt okay.


	5. Chapter 5

It's Not Over: Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Jericho, its characters, or its plot. I am writing this purely for entertainment purposes.

Notes: First, I want to apologize for the delay. I did not intend on taking this long to write it, but I had some things come up. Second, you'll need to have watched _Oversight_ in order to understand what is going on in this chapter. Finally, thank you to all of you who have stuck with this story for the past four chapters. These first five chapters are all there to develop the plot for later on.

As always, feedback is appreciated.

--

_Flashback to Oversight Episode:_

"It's done," Heather said as she let Jake in her front door.

"You got it?" Jake asked.

"Yeah. Here you go," Heather answered handing him the folded page of the radiation report. "I hope this was worth it because I think I signed my own death warrant."

"What do you mean?" Jake asked in alarm.

"One of the officers caught me in the office. Luckily Beck trusts me and let me go," Heather said going back to her kitchen counter where she'd left her lunch.

"You think Beck's going to figure it out?" Jake asked following her.

"Yeah. I would be stupid to think otherwise," Heather responded looking over her shoulder at him. "I hope your friend Hawkins is right. I hope my death is going to mean something in the end."

"You're not going to die," Jake tried to reassure her and himself.

"Everyone is going to die. I'm just a little closer that's all," Heather retorted. "You know what bothers me the most about all this?"

"What?" Jake said in confusion.

"Betraying Beck. He's a good guy. It sad to think I just screwed over a man I consider a friend," Heather said.

"I know you like Beck. Heck, I like Beck, but Beck's ASA. He's quickly going to become the enemy. You know that?"

"I'm not sure who the enemy is any more. All I know is that it's awfully lonely always taking the moral high ground."

"I'm sorry I had to drag you into this. If there had been any other way," Jake said taking a carrot stick from her plate. He took a bite.

Heather held up her hand. "It's okay. You know me; helpful Heather always willing to do her part. You know, you guys are going to have to get rid of that thing and soon. Besides the fact that it's only a matter of time before Beck finds it, the nuclear core is going to start disintegrating at an expediential rate," Heather answered.

"What does that mean?" Jake asked.

"It means that the bomb, at least I assume that's what it is, is going to become unstable. Based on what I've gleaned from Beck's reports, the thing was made to look like it was put together by terrorists. Terrorists don't create nuclear bombs for the stability. Even if it is disconnected from the triggering device, one false move and that thing can go. Of course, it could well be a dud. Depending where they got the bomb making material, plutonium begins to disintegrate after as little as 20 years."

"I'll keep that under consideration," Jake replied wondering just how she knew about the stability factors of nuclear bombs.

"Be careful Jake," Heather warned.

"I am," Jake answered.

"No you're not," Heather shot back. "You don't even know what careful means."

"I thought that was part of my charm," Jake joked. He took the other half of the sandwich off her plate and started eating it.

"Stop stealing my food," Heather joked throwing a carrot stick at him.

"I'm not stealing. I'm commandeering."

"So this is an official act of the sheriff?" Heather asked with a laugh.

"Well, Sheriff's got to eat."

"Well, then by all means go ahead and eat it," Heather said with a smile. Her face turned serious. "I'm not hungry anyway."

"Heather."

"It's okay. I'm okay."

"No you're not," Jake said searching her eyes. "I'm so sorry for everything."

"Jake. No apologies," Heather said shaking her head.

"Things are such a mess," Jake responded taking another bite of the sandwich.

"Things fall apart. The center does not hold," Heather responded.

"Yeats, right?" Jake asked recognizing the line.

"Yeah," Heather answered. "The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity."

Jake came around the counter and embraced her. "What the hell am I going to do?" he asked referring everything that was going on in the town, the world.

"I wish I had some good advice," Heather answered looking up into Jake's eyes. "I really do."

Jake saw the tears in her eyes realizing that they were not for her, but him. He felt this overwhelming urge to kiss her. His last thought before he gave in was that she was right. He wasn't careful.

_Jericho: Middle of October_

Heather walked the darkened street alone as she made her way to her house. She had made it through dinner with just Eric, Mary and Gail. Jake never came. When she had stepped out of the locker room at the med center, Jake was gone. Bill told her that Jake had left with Emily. Heather was not sure how she felt about it as she was partially relieved and partly disappointed. As always, ambivalence ruled her relationship with him. She wondered if it always would.

As Heather made it within a couple of houses of hers she saw a dark figure on her doorstep and could not make out who it was. _Who the hell is sitting there waiting for me?_ Heather thought to herself. She reached into the pocket of her jacket and felt for the small pistol she always carried with her. Rather than continue on the sidewalk, she moved to the grass trying to get as close to the houses themselves as possible. There were no street lights because there wasn't enough energy production to keep street lights on and heat homes. So she stayed in the shadows until she got within sight range of the figure. Heather reached into her other pocket and pulled out a small flashlight. From the bushes that separated her house from her neighbors, she flashed the light at the figure.

"What the hell? Who's there?" Heather heard a familiar voice yell.

"Jake! What the hell are you doing sitting on my porch in the dark? I almost shot you!" Heather yelled as she recognized the voice and was able to finally see who it was.

"It's you. Thank God. I thought for a minute someone had it in for me," Jake said as Heather came out from behind the bushes and walked to meet Jake on the porch.

"What are you doing here? If I didn't know better, I'd think you were stalking me," Heather replied putting the pistol back into her pocket.

"I came to talk to you," Jake answered putting his hand into his pockets.

"Let's go inside," Heather suggested feeling the cold breaking through her coat. "But first, I need to go around the house once and check it out." Heather went to Charlotte which was parked in her driveway and pulled out a more powerful flashlight. She started walking around the house looking at the windows.

"What exactly are you doing?" Jake asked as he followed her.

"Need to make sure that the house hasn't been compromised. I mean I was here this afternoon, but you never know. This won't take more than minute."

"Compromised. What are you talking about?"

"Well, since Constantino put a price on my head, I've had to be careful. Never quite sure what I'll find when I get home," Heather answered as she unlocked the gate to her backyard.

"What!? Constantino has a price on your head?" Jake asked grabbing Heather's arm.

Heather pulled her arm from his grasp. "Not anymore. It was part of the deal. He had to pull his goons off. Officially, I'm no longer on his wanted list, but that doesn't mean he won't still come after me or send someone else." Heather continued on checking every entry way into her house. All were specially marked so that if an intruder opened a window she would know, but they wouldn't realize they were signaling her.

"What deal?"

"How do you think we've got electricity?" Heather rhetorically asked with a deep sigh. She turned around and came out the gate they entered. After Jake walked through, she locked it and continued to the front of the house looking at the rest of the windows and doors. Then went to the side and checked the one window on that side of the house.

"Alright, everything is secure. Come on in," Heather requested as she unlocked the front door and flipped the light switch on.

Jake entered the house and looked around. It had been about four months since he had last been at her house. At that time, he hadn't been particularly interested in the house itself with most of his attention focused on the owner. He liked how comfortable it seemed. Unlike Emily's house which looked professionally decorated, Heather's house reminded him more of his parent's. It had a comfortable couch and lazy-boy in the living room. It didn't have any particular style, but just had pictures on the walls of people whom Jake assumed Heather had been close to at some time.

"So, what's so important? I mean you could've just come to dinner. We could've talked then," Heather remarked in frustration as she really had enough of people for one day.

"I couldn't come to dinner because I couldn't talk about this in front of my family," Jake answered shaking his head.

"Fine. What is it?" Heather asked going to the kitchen with Jake in tow.

"I talked to Emily tonight."

"Yeah. I know, but what does that have to do with me?" Heather asked while reaching into the refrigerator to get a pitcher of water.

"She told me something. I came to find out from you if it's true," Jake said as he reach into a cabinet and get a glass. He glanced over at the kitchen table which was covered in parts. "What's going on over there?" Jake asked pointing at the table.

"I'm working on a better triggering mechanism for my IEDs."

"IEDs?"

"Improvised Explosive Devices," Heather answered as she filled her glass.

"Am I in freaking Iraq?" Jake asked with an intent look in Heather's direction.

"It worked for the insurgents there. I figure it will work for us," Heather said matter-of-factly. "I've got them set up along all of the roads entering the town. Anyone comes in trying to start something; hopefully it will stop them or at least slow them down."

"Good idea," Jake said surprised at her ingenuity.

"So, what did Emily tell you?" Heather asked trying to get him back on the topic at hand. She wasn't sure what Emily would've known that would've driven Jake to come to her house and wait out in the dark.

"She told me you're pregnant. Told me I'm the father," Jake said, rather calmly, as he picked up a piece of what looked like a cell phone and pretended to study it. "Of course that was after she'd spent a half an hour telling me how horrible I was. So is it true?"

"Did she happen to say where she had gotten her info?" Heather asked trying to decide if there was any plausible way to get out of admitting it. She took a drink of water from the glass she'd just poured watching Jake set down the part and come back to the counter.

"She say's she's been working at the Med Center. She saw your medical record. So is it true?" Jakes asked earnestly, leaning on the counter with both hands. He acted like he already knew the answer, but wanted it from Heather.

Heather didn't say anything for a minute. She wasn't sure she wanted to tell him. She looked at him again and realized he already believed it. "Yeah, it's true," Heather replied giving in. She didn't say anything else, but walked around Jake who was standing between the family room and the kitchen and took a seat in her lazy-boy recliner.

"When were you planning on telling me?" Jake asked accusingly.

"When did I have a chance?" Heather asked.

"Last night. This afternoon," Jake defended.

"I'm sorry that you had to hear it from someone else," Heather half-heartedly apologized.

"Shit! I don't need this Heather. I really don't," Jake said running his hands through his hair. Now, that he had heard it from Heather, reality was smacking him in the face.

"Look. Like I told you last night, you're free. This baby is not your problem. I am not your problem," Heather replied. "I can handle it."

"You think I can just walk away from you, from our child. I'm not that kind of man."

"What happened between us was a mistake; a tragic, horrible mistake."

"It wasn't a mistake," Jake countered as he sat down on the couch.

"Jake. You were pissed off and came to me for comfort. We went too far and that's all."

"I came to you because I wanted to be with you. The only times I have been near happiness is when I was with you," Jake tried to explain. "Since the whole thing with New Bern, I was nothing, but a walking zombie, a door mat. I went through the motions. Did what I had to do, but I shut off my emotions. I tried to not think about what I wanted, but that day, the way you looked at me. I just couldn't turn away."

"If at the time, I thought for a minute I was going to be alive much longer, I would've stopped us. Like I said before, this baby doesn't change anything. I'll deal with this on my own. I'm not sure I'd know how to do it any other way," Heather replied. She'd been on her own for so long now. She wasn't about to start having to depend on somebody now.

"You are not going to do this alone. I'm not my brother," Jake declared.

"You would sacrifice your happiness in order to not be like Eric?" Heather asked incredulously.

"Heather, I haven't been happy in a very long time. I wasn't happy before the bombs. I wasn't particularly happy after the bombs. There's not much to sacrifice."

"I still can't let you feel responsible for this. I grew up with a dad who never really wanted to be a father. Unfortunately, he ended up a single parent raising a daughter he never wanted. I won't do that to this baby."

"Heather," Jake said with his head in his hands.

"I loved my father. He was a good guy, but he probably wouldn't win parent of the year. There were so many times when I needed him, but he wasn't there. Jake, I know you don't want me or this baby. Please, just let me be."

"I can't do that. I won't do that. Anyway, what do you think I've been trying to tell you for the past twenty-four hours? It's you I want."

"Jake," Heather said shaking her head.

"Look, I know my track record is horrible at best. Just give me a chance."

Heather sat there studying Jake's face for a minute trying to decide if he was sincere. Knowing she couldn't rush a decision, she finally said, "We'll see."

Jake finally let out a breath he'd been holding. He had hoped for more, but this was better than he probably deserved. "Who else knows?" Jake asked trying to figure out how much time he had before he had to break the news to his mother.

"As far as I knew, Kenchy was the only one," Heather answered.

"What about Bill?"

"What about Bill?" Heather asked back.

"You haven't told him? I know he's not the brightest guy in the world, but he's probably figured it out by now," Jake said noticing that the way she was sitting exposed the beginnings of a baby bump.

"I haven't told him and I don't think he knows. Like I told your mother, my relationship with Bill is more on the order of chaste kisses and supportive hugs," Heather explained.

"Thank God for small favors," Jake said thankful that her relationship with Bill wasn't all that serious.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Heather accusingly asked.

"Nothing," Jake replied trying to avoid explaining his discomfort with the thought of another man being with the woman who's carrying his child.

"So, where are you going with this?" Heather asked deciding she wasn't up for defending Bill at the moment.

"I'm just trying to figure out how much time we've got before it makes it to the gossip mills," Jake replied. After a moment's reflection he went on, "You're coming to dinner tomorrow night and we are going to tell my mother before she hears it from someone else."

"I'm not sure that's a good idea."

"Why?"

"I'm not ready to tell people yet. Hell, I wasn't ready to tell you."

"You're what? Four months along at this point. I don't think you'll be hiding it for much longer."

Heather rolled her eyes.

"And Emily knows. She's pissed off enough that I wouldn't put it past her to start spreading it around now that she's told me."

"Why do things have to be so freaking complicated?" Heather said in exasperation.

"Things don't have to be. Look, if you don't come with me to tell her, I'll tell her on my own. My poor mother has been through enough. I will not do this to her."

"Okay," Heather gave in.

"When are you due?" Jake asked realizing that he did not even know the most basic facts.

"Late February," Heather answered sheepishly.

"Ironic isn't?" Jake asked shaking his head

"What's so ironic?" Heather asked back.

"That's about the year anniversary of the whole New Bern attack."

"I know," Heather said her voice tempered. She rubbed her eyes. Fatigue was starting to get the better of her.

"You look tired," Jake observed. He didn't really want to leave. He had so many questions, but he could tell that she was exhausted.

"I am. I didn't sleep well last night," Heather admitted with a yawn.

"You probably want me to get going then," Jake said with slight smile.

"I'm sorry Jake," Heather said referring to the baby.

"Nothing to be sorry about. This was my doing," Jake replied understanding what she meant and got up to leave.

Heather joined him and walked him to the door. "I'll see you in the morning, okay?"

"Lock this door behind me. Maybe I should check all the windows and doors before I leave?" Jakes asked as he thought about their earlier conversation.

"I'll check everything twice before I go to sleep. I always do because I can't sleep otherwise."

"Okay," Jake was about to open the door when he turned and took Heather's face in his hands and gently kissed her. He was too tired and he knew she was too tired for anything more. As he slowly broke off the kiss, he whispered, "It's really no sacrifice at all."

"Good night," Heather said with little emotion, looking straight into Jake's eyes.

"Good night," Jake answered. He opened the door and walked out into the darkness. Heather closed the door behind him. He only took a few steps waiting to hear the sound of the door locks click. Once he heard them, he started moving faster trying to make it home before his mom went to sleep. As he walked, he tried to think of a good story to tell his mother to explain his absence from dinner. He knew she wouldn't buy it, but also knew she wouldn't seek further explanation. For the first time it sunk in that he was going to be somebody's father. He knew somewhere up in heaven his father was laughing at him and probably his grandfather for good measure.

--

Note: The poem that Heather quotes is: _The Second Coming by William Butler Yeats_


	6. Chapter 6

It's Not Over: Chapter 6

Rating: PG-13 (A bit of language and referral to stuff I wouldn't want my 8 year old to read about).

Disclaimer: The name "Jericho" and all character names and trademarks associated with the television program are the intellectual property of Junction Entertainment, Fixed Mark Productions, CBS Paramount Television and/or CBS Studios, Inc. The following story is intended solely as an intellectual exercise without profit motive. No infringement of copyright is intended or should be implied.

Notes: Thanks for your patience. I got my complete series DVD's and I've been re-watching the episodes. Hopefully, it will help me make the story tighter. Anyway, all and any feedback is always appreciated!

--

Jimmy quietly walked down the hall not trusting Bea's statement that Bill was actually awake this early in the morning. Jimmy had only intended to check with Bea on how Bill was doing, but had been informed that Bill was up which came as a surprise as Bill was never willingly awake this early in the morning.

Slowly he stopped at the door to his friend's bedroom and found Bill sitting up in bed eating what looked to be eggs, bacon, and toast. "Must be nice to have a brother who's a farmer," Jimmy joked.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Bill asked wiping a smidge of egg off his upper lip.

"Just thought I'd check on how you're doing. What are you doing awake at six-thirty in the morning?"

"Well, when you've been asleep since four in the afternoon, you tend to wake up early."

"If I'd known that before, I would've sent you home to bed in the old days instead of letting you come over to drink beer with me after work."

"Ha Ha," Bill fake laughed and took a bite of toast.

"So, how's the shoulder?" Jimmy asked as walked to a chair that sat next to his friend's double bed and sat down. His eyes fell on a picture sitting on his nightstand.

"It hurts, but I'll live. You know that makes twice this year that I've been shot."

"Well, I still beat you 'cause I had to stay in the hospital for a month and I got shot more than once."

"But I got shot on two different occasions and I had a veterinarian sew me up this time," Bill jokingly argued.

"Yeah, but I nearly died!" Jimmy exclaimed.

"But I got beaten up by those refugees!"

"That was because you provoked them!"

"I got hit by shrapnel when we were shelled!"

"Yeah, but I still almost died!"

Bill held his hand up in surrender, "You win."

"I see you still have her pictures up. I thought with you and Heather you'd have put them away," Jimmy commented as he picked up the framed picture from the nightstand. He studied the familiar features of the young woman in the picture.

"I keep meaning to, but I can't put them away."

"I know what you mean," Jimmy answered handing the picture to Bill.

"Anyway, I think this thing with Heather has run its course," Bill added looking at the picture.

"What do you mean?"

"Heather doesn't want to be with me. She's still got a thing for Jake and from the looks of it Jake's got a thing for her. I'm not the smartest guy in the world, but I know when to give up."

"I told you not to get involved with her."

"Yeah," Bill said looking at the picture longingly and then setting it back down on the nightstand.

"Nat could still be alive," Jimmy commented as he saw the expression on his friend's face.

"I know, but it's been over a year. You'd think she'd make it back by now. She was always so quiet, so innocent. I mean look at what we've faced and we're in the middle of freaking Kansas."

"You know, she's probably on some beach somewhere drinking margaritas," Jimmy responded. "She's probably knows all Hell's about to break loose and she's just going to stay where it's safe."

"You're probably right," Bill half-heartedly agreed.

Jimmy didn't know what to say and tried to find an out. He looked at the clock, "Look, I got to get going. Take it easy and that's an order from the Sheriff."

"Yes, sir!" Bill mockingly answered as Jimmy left the room. Bill went back to his breakfast.

As he was finishing, his mother came in, "So, you almost finished there, Billy?"

"Here, I'm all done," Bill answered. "I could've eaten this in the kitchen."

"I know, but let your old mother do her mothering. Anyway, I'm afraid I'm going to have to leave you on your own for a few days. Your brother came by. It seems the whole lot of them has come down with the flu and he came begging for my help."

"That's not good," Bill answered with a sigh. His brother would have to come down sick.

"He would've come in to see you, but I told him I'd rather not expose him to you. I didn't think the flu and a gunshot wound were a good mix."

"Probably not."

"Are you going to be okay by yourself?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine, Ma."

"That's my sweet boy," Bea replied planting a kiss on his forehead.

"You know Ma, I'm thirty-two years old," Bill whined.

"You could be seventy-two years old and you'll still be my sweet boy," his mother replied patting his head.

"Yes, Ma," he replied giving in. He watched his mother leave with the breakfast plate.

Within twenty minutes, his mother had left with his brother and Bill was on his own. Today he realized that he really missed television and the mindless distraction of watching bad reality television shows. He couldn't count the number of hours of "Cops" he'd watched. Natalie used to make fun of Bill and Jimmy who could often be found watching "Cops" after getting off of a shift. She couldn't understand why they would want to watch a show about their own jobs. They'd tried to explain at the time that the most exciting thing to happen to a Jericho sheriff's deputy was wrangling in the cows when they got onto the highway.

Instead of the company of his mother, he was going to have to find ways to amuse himself. With his mother around, she may be annoying, but at least she was good for a card game or chat about some gossip going on in the town. Without her, he was stuck to his own devices. He had a pile of books that he should probably read, but really hadn't had the time or the heart to look at. They had all been left by Natalie, the girl in the picture, who had read them at one time or another. He got up and went to the shelf with the books on it and picked up the one on the top, "John Adams." He couldn't exactly figure out what had possessed her to give it to him. He wasn't a big reader and he definitely didn't like stuff like this, but he picked it up anyway and tried to start reading it.

He'd been trying to read the book when he heard a knock on the front door. He got up off the bed and set aside the book to see who it was as he wasn't sure who would be there except for Heather who had promised to come and check on him today. When he opened the door he was surprised to find Emily Sullivan. "Emily, what do I owe the pleasure?" he asked sarcastically.

"I just wanted to come by and see how you were doing," Emily answered innocently.

"I'm fine. A little sore, but I'll live," Bill answered.

"Can we talk?" Emily asked.

"Sure, about what?" Bill asked as he let Emily in. "Have a seat."

Emily sat down on the couch in the living room and Bill sat down on another chair. "Where's your mom?" Emily asked.

"She went to the farm. It seems my brother and his family came down with the flu."

"That's too bad. Are you going to be okay staying here alone?"

"I'll be fine," Bill assured her. "I don't want to sound rude, but what exactly do you want to talk about? I'm pretty tired and I'd like to get back to sleep," Bill lied as he felt talking with Emily was up there with being shot as things he liked to avoid.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Emily apologized. "I just wanted to come by and see how you were doing. Maybe keep you company for few minutes."

"I appreciate it," Bill responded in confusion as Emily never specifically sought him out. They were friendly, but not friends.

"So, how's it going with everything?" Emily asked.

"Fine."

"How are things with Heather?"

"Fine."

"Must be weird having Jake back now?" Emily asked.

"Why would it be weird?"

"Well, cause Heather's had a mad crush on him since he came back to town last year."

"What are you getting at Emily?" he asked in annoyance.

"Well, I just don't want to see you get hurt," Emily replied and then added looking at his shoulder, "well hurt more."

"I appreciate the warning, but as I was trying to explain to my mother this morning, I'm an adult. I'll be fine."

"Well, I think there's something you should know."

"Emily, if it involves Heather, I really don't care."

"I think you'd want to know about this."

"As much as I enjoy talking with you, I'm really tired," Bill cut her off. He really didn't want to play into this game.

"I'm sorry to have bothered you," Emily responded realizing she wasn't going to get to tell him about the pregnancy. She couldn't believe that Bill wouldn't play along, but he didn't seem like his usual self. Bill was always good for hearing dirt on anyone and everyone. Emily gave up blaming his lack of interest on the drugs and the gunshot wound.

"No problem Emily. I appreciate what you are trying to do, but like I said, I'm not nearly as dumb as I look."

"Get some rest," Emily responded ignoring his last statement.

--

_Later that morning at the Sheriff's station:_

"As I informed Gray yesterday, I am resigning as leader of the Rangers," Heather said to a group of men in the Sheriff's office.

"Why?" Jimmy asked. "I mean you've done an awesome job. No way we'd be even half-way to where we are today without you."

"I never intended on doing this long term. Anyway, war is coming. It's only a matter of time before the battle reaches Jericho's doorstep. We need a leader who can show the courage to step up and put his life on the line. I think Jake's the man for the job."

Gray didn't look convinced, "I'm not sure that's the best idea. No offense, Jake, but you are a loose canon at times."

Heather shook her head. "Gray, I am not asking that you appoint Jake leader of the Rangers. I am telling you that Jake is the head of the Rangers. I had an early morning phone call with Beck who backs me one hundred percent on this along with the leadership in Texas Guard."

"I don't like the fact that other people are making decisions for what is best for Jericho," Gray complained.

"Gray, this is not just about protecting Jericho anymore. It's about protecting our country and our way of life. Anyway here," Heather handed a report to Jake and to Gray. "This report is everything I know about what is happening on the ground. Once you look at the report, you'll realize that war is imminent. The question is no longer if, but when."

"So this is it. You're done?" Jake asked.

"No. Beck still wants me involved in planning and I'll help you with day to day operations as much as possible, but things are going to get dangerous and I am not the person for the job anymore."

Jake merely nodded understanding what she meant.

"Gray, Beck told me that Texas is sending some people here in a few days. They want to set up a communications center for troop deployments and mission ops. They picked Jericho because we already have so much of the equipment here from the J and R days."

"Why doesn't he ever discuss these things with me?" Gray asked in exasperation.

"You can ask him yourself. He'll be accompanying the team here."

"I still don't understand," Eric commented.

"Like I said, talk to Beck when he comes," Heather responded. "Alright, I don't have anything left to tell you guys. Jake, read through what I've given you and let me know if you have any questions," Heather said started walking out the door.

"Where are you going?" Jake asked with concern. "What am I supposed to do?"

"I've got a 'to do' list made up for you on your desk. Go forth and 'to do,'" Heather answered. "I promised Bill I'd check up on him this afternoon. You'll be fine."

"Yeah right," Jake replied as picked up the list of tasks she'd left for him. Before he could ask anymore, Heather had left the office.

--

_Later at Bill's House:_

"So, how many pairs of underwear do you need?" Heather asked about to open a drawer in Bill's bedroom.

"Heather, I really appreciate what you're trying to do, but having you rifle through my underwear drawer is just kinda weird," Bill replied.

"You know I've seen you in your underwear," Heather reminded him.

Bill gave her a dirty look. "That was different! A skunk was involved."

"Fine. You pack your bag," Heather said handing him the small duffle bag. "I'm just going to sit there over on the bed while you get your stuff together."

"Heather."

"I'm not offended or anything. Just get your clothes together. I was just trying to help you," Heather said as she sat down on the bed.

"You know I can just stay here by myself," Bill said.

"Those drugs that Kenchy gave you are not exactly FDA approved. There's no telling what they really are or what's in them. You need someone to make sure you don't OD or something," Heather said. "Plus how in the world are you going to get your clothes changed."

"True. It's just I don't want to put you out or anything."

"You're not putting me out Bill. The least I can do. I mean I am the reason you got hurt in the first place."

"Now don't keep blaming yourself," Bill said as sat down next to her on the edge of the bed.

"I'll keep that in mind," Heather said. Heather looked at the nightstand next to Bill's bed and saw a picture. "Who's that? She looks familiar."

"The girl I was going to marry."

"You were engaged?! I don't remember that," Heather responded giving him a confused look.

"I never got around to asking her. I mean I planned on asking her. I even bought the ring, but then the bombs happened."

"Where is she?"

"I don't know where Natalie is. She was at some weather conference in Texas when the bombs happened."

"Now I remember her. She's Jimmy's sister, isn't she, the weather doctor, kind of shy; always kept to herself. I was trying to get her to speak to the kids in my class. I had forgotten that you were seeing her."

"Well, it doesn't really matter any more. I mean it's been over a year."

"You never know. I mean everyone thought I was dead. She could still be alive."

"Heather can we talk about something else?" Bill asked not wanting to explain how long it had taken for him to get to the point of accepting that Natalie wasn't coming back.

"You better get packing, anyway. I've got dinner at six and you need to get cleaned up still."

"Do I smell that bad?" Bill said with a smile regaining his composure. He still hadn't had a shower since he'd gotten home.

"Nah, if you like the smells of two days worth sweat, blood, and just general male stench, then you smell great," Heather joked. She gave him a smile.

"You have a great smile. Have I ever told you that?" Bill asked.

"Bill. Please. Get your stuff together or I will." Heather jokingly threatened. Bill still didn't move and Heather grabbed the duffle bag back from Bill and stood up. "Alright, you asked for it. Which drawer is the underwear?"

"You're no fun," Bill said as he stood up. He took the bag from her again and started going for his drawers.

"What you've got in there? You've got some quality porn or something?"

"Heather, at the moment, I really don't want to be discussing my porn collection," Bill replied.

"So you do!" Heather said with a giggle.

"Will you please!?" Bill begged pointing her back to the bed.

"Sorry. I'm just teasing you," Heather said with a laugh.

"You're certainly in a good mood," Bill said as he opened a drawer and pulled out four pairs of boxer-briefs. He fumbled with the bag for a moment. "You think you could hold the bag for me."

"Sure," Heather answered taking the bag from him.

"You're happy that Jake's back aren't you?" Bill asked knowing the answer.

"Yeah. I unloaded the Rangers back on him," Heather said.

"What!?" Bill asked in surprise.

"I quit," Heather declared.

"Why?" Bill asked looking through another drawer.

"You better not go for T-shirts. You're never going to be able to get one on," Heather said as she watched Bill consider whether to shove in some T-shirts.

"Yeah, you're probably right," Bill said. He went to his closet and found a few button shirts and handed them to her. "Going back to what you said before, why did you quit?"

"Gray was being his usual Gray self and pushed my buttons. Anyway, I need to quit. I never intended to keep doing this long term. I'm not a soldier. Plus, I've got some things coming up that are going to need my full attention."

"What you've got planned? Does it involve getting shot at? 'cause at this point, I'm not sure I'm up for it," Bill joked setting a clean shirt and sweatpants on the bed. He went to the drawer and grabbed a clean pair of boxer-briefs and a pair of socks.

"Not really. I just have so many small projects that I haven't gotten to. My kitchen table is full of half-finished stuff I haven't been able to work on."

"That sounds safe," Bill said with skepticism knowing the types of things she works on. "Do you want me to take a shower here or at your house?"

"Why don't you take one here?" Heather answered. She stood up. "Here, let's me help you with your shirt." She helped him take the sling off and started unbuttoning his shirt.

"So what other plans do you have?" Bill asked as he tried to think about something other than Heather's hands.

"This and that," Heather said. Heather knew she was about to break the news to him about the baby, but was feeling herself chickening out. "Do you ever think about the future?"

"What do you mean?" Bill asked as Heather helped him take his shirt off.

"What did you want before all this happened?" Heather asked.

"You mean before the bombs?" Bill asked.

Heather nodded.

"Like I said before, I was planning on marrying Natalie and maybe having a couple of kids. Jimmy always seemed happy with that. What about you?"

"I really didn't have any plans. I mean I thought about a lot of things, but before the bombs hit, I was really at loose ends." Heather answered. "So you still want the same thing now?"

"Right now, it's hard to figure out what I want. I figure every day I wake up and I'm still alive and the people I love are still alive is a good day; hard to plan for anything else right now."

"Yeah, things sort of come up out of the blue don't they?" Heather remarked as she worked on the bandage on the front of his shoulder.

"Yeah, they do."

"If I tell you something, you have to promise you won't get mad," Heather declared as she worked on the bandage on back.

"What's going on? Does this involve your plans?" Bill asked. "Ouch, that hurt!" he exclaimed as she pulled on the bandage.

"Sorry," Heather replied. She rubbed his shoulder.

Bill turned around to face Heather again. "So what's up?"

"I don't know how to tell you this."

"Come on. My shoulder hurts. I want to go take a shower. Will you just tell me?" Bill said with earnestness.

"I'm pregnant," She quietly announced.

"I know," he answered calmly.

"You know?!"

"Heather. Why do you think I forced you to take me along to that meeting the other day?" Bill asked.

"How did you know?"

"Kenchy told me. He was worried that you weren't taking care of yourself. He thought I should know so I could watch out for you."

"I could kill Kenchy. That's the last time I bribe someone with fifteen year old scotch for their silence. So, if you knew why didn't you say something?"

"I figured you'd tell me sooner or later."

"I'm sorry. You probably feel like I've been leading you on or something."

"No. Actually I don't. I mean I can't say I'm thrilled that you're pregnant with some other guys' kid, but I can't hold it against you. It's not like you haven't warned me off enough times. Also, I kind of knew from the beginning that our relationship was doomed."

Heather said nothing in response. She hadn't realized that Bill had the same feeling that she did. He was a little more sophisticated than she'd given him credit for. Rather than agreeing she tried to find a way to move away from this conversation. She looked down at the clock on the nightstand. "You'd better go take that shower," Heather said breaking the silence.

"So, who's the father?" Bill asked, not moving. "Is it Beck's?"

"You don't know?"

"No, Kenchy didn't tell me and I didn't press it. So who is it?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me."

"It's Jake's."

"You're shitting me right? I mean I thought him and Emily were all hot and heavy."

"I said you wouldn't believe me."

"That explains Emily's little visit this morning."

"Emily came to see you?" Heather asked dubiously.

"Why do I feel like I'm in one of those stupid soap operas Ma used to force me to watch with her during summer vacation?"

"My life is just one big soap opera these days," Heather answered. "Now go take that shower."

--

_The Green House later that evening_

"Mom, there's something that I need to tell you," Jake announced as his mother handed out another serving of mashed potatoes.

"What is it?" Gail asked taking a bite of green beans. "By the way, Heather thanks for bringing by the produce."

"Well, it's just going bad at my house."

"So, Jake what's you big news. This better not involve you leaving Jericho again," Gail warned.

"I'm not planning on leaving again," Jake assured her. He took a deep breath, "Mom, I don't know exactly how to say this, but Heather's pregnant."

"I know."

"You know?!" Jake and Heather both said in astonishment.

"I've known for awhile. Kenchy told me a few weeks ago at the clinic. He was worried that Heather wasn't taking care of herself."

"This has got to be the worst kept secret in Jericho because Emily and Bill knew too," Heather commented. "Last time I bribe that particular doctor."

"I'm not sure that you know the other part of this, I'm the father," Jake announced.

"I knew that too," Gail said with a smile.

"If you knew all of this, why didn't you say something yesterday when we were talking about the pregnant mamas?" Heather asked.

"I figured you'd tell me eventually," Gail said in a motherly way. "I wanted to give you time to deal with it yourself."

"I'm sorry mom," Jake said.

"What are you apologizing for? Of all the things you've done in your life, I don't rank this up there as one of the worst. To be honest, if this finally puts the nail in the coffin between you and Emily, I'm all for it."

"Tell me how you really feel," Jake joked knowing that his mother was never particularly happy with his relationship with Emily.

"Look, Emily is a good person and you are a good person, but the two of you together turns two good people into something I never liked to see."

"Well, we're you should be happy to know we're done."

"I'm sorry Gail for not telling you sooner. I just wasn't sure what to do or how to say it," Heather explained as she played with the food on her plate.

"Don't worry about it. I've come to expect it from my family. Nobody tells anyone anything until it gets out of hand."

"I think that's her way of welcoming you to the family," Jake explained.

"Oh, thanks, I guess," Heather said in confusion.

"You get use to it and you're already well on your way to becoming one of us," Gail said with a laugh.


	7. Chapter 7 Revised

It's Not Over: Chapter 7 Revised

Rating: PG (Pretty tame chapter. Just a bit of bad language).

Disclaimer: The name "Jericho" and all character names and trademarks associated with the television program are the intellectual property of Junction Entertainment, Fixed Mark Productions, CBS Paramount Television and/or CBS Studios, Inc. The following story is intended solely as an intellectual exercise without profit motive. No infringement of copyright is intended or should be implied.

Notes: After doing some soul searching and communicating with a few people, I have reworked Chapters 7 through 12. Some changes are minor and others are significant. Overall, the plot is the same, just certain characters and their actions have been changed/corrected. Thanks to JT, mainemom22, and jordanmr. As always, feedback is appreciated.

This chapter picks up about five days after we left our intrepid characters.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jake entered the conference room and found the air to be as hot and sticky as the rest of the building. Jericho and most of the Midwest was suffering (or enjoying depending on one's point of view) an Indian summer with temperatures rising to the mid-eighties. Jake could feel every piece of clothing on his body sticking to him. The town hall had no air conditioning anymore and so there was absolutely no air moving. Eric had told him that this was nothing compared to late August when the temperatures had reached the above 100 degrees and the entire Jericho Sheriff's department switched from uniforms to shorts and t-shirts to deal with the heat. It was only at Heather's insistence that they had kept the shirts on as she pointed out that scientifically a shirt actually kept them cooler. Jake smiled at the image of Heather arguing with the men about their attire.

"What are you smiling at?" Eric asked as he noticed his brother walk through the door. Eric had given in and was wearing Khaki shorts and a polo shirt as he dealt with the heat.

"Nothing, just thinking," Jake answered. Trying to shift the focus from himself, he asked, "So, how does it feel to only have two more days of freedom?"

"It feels good," Eric replied with a big smile. Eric finally felt like maybe his life was getting back on track. He was excited about making a life with Mary. He'd married April because he thought she was the type of woman that his father would want to him to marry, but he was marrying Mary because she was the woman he wanted to marry.

"Earth to Eric," Jake joked as he noticed his brother was somewhere else.

"Oh, sorry," Eric apologized. "So, Major Beck and those Texas people will be here any minute?"

"Yeah, they just came through the check point."

"Why exactly are we allowing these guys to come in?" Bill asked with skepticism from a seat in the corner.

"I see the harbinger of doom is back. Don't you have other things you could be doing?" Jake asked in irritation.

"Jimmy's busy and asked me to be part of your welcoming party."

"Be quiet. That's all I ask. I really don't need to start a war with Texas at the moment," Jake remarked his eye brow arched.

"Jake, be nice," Eric interjected before Bill could reply. Jake had been in a foul mood for the past few days. Eric suspected it was because of Heather's pregnancy. Eric was surprised when his brother had related the information. He knew that Heather had feelings for Jake, but Eric hadn't realized that Jake had reciprocated. Then poor Bill got stuck in the middle or out in the cold depending how he looked at it. Eric tried not to think about it any more and looked out the door, "Anyone seen Heather?"

"Yeah, she'll be right in," Jake replied. When Jake had left Heather, she had gone to the bathroom to wash up.

"You guys missed me?" Heather said overhearing Eric's question. Heather, like everyone else, was dressed for the warm weather. She was dressed in short-sleeve shirt and a pair of jogging shorts. She couldn't fit into her jeans or any of her nicer shorts. Gayle was working on finding some maternity clothes, but at the moment, Heather was stuck with what she had.

"Eric was just wondering where you were," Jake explained unnecessarily.

"Bill, what are you doing here? You should be home resting," Heather admonished as she noticed that he was sitting in the room.

"Got tired of sitting around at home sweating and figured I could at least do some paperwork or something and help Jimmy out," Bill explained.

"So, what did I miss?" Heather asked.

"Nothing, we're just waiting," Eric answered.

"So, where's Gray?" Jake asked realizing that they were missing the mayor.

"He's downstairs. He wants to be the first one to greet the group," Eric explained.

"Always putting on the dog and pony show isn't he?" Jake asked in disgust. For a man who only a few days before was upset that they were coming, he was now going to welcome them with open arms for some reason.

"Wouldn't be Gray otherwise," Eric answered. "Hawkins decided not to come?"

"Yeah, said something about wanting to keep a low profile. We didn't exactly get warm and fuzzy feelings in Texas," Jake responded.

"You'd think you'd be a state hero or something," Eric answered.

"Yeah, you'd think," Jake replied. Jake hadn't gone to the trouble of starting a war to get recognition, but he was frustrated they'd been treated almost like criminals in Texas. Hawkins said that sometimes people, even governments, would rather avoid the truth than deal with it. In this case, Jake and Hawkins' evidence made the argument for war, a war that no one was really ready for nor wanted.

The group remained silent as they awaited Major Beck and the Texas communications people to come in. Heather shuffled through the papers listing what equipment had been left by J & R after their abrupt departure. Jake stood with his arms crossed staring out the window watching for the humvees. Bill sat there trying to keep his mouth shut hoping that Jake would get out of whatever funk he was in soon. Eric just wanted to get this over with so he could go to Bailey's and hang out with his soon to be wife.

"They're here," Jake announced as he saw three humvees drive up Main Street.

"So, who's amongst the group?" Eric asked.

"No one's gotten out yet," Jake said going from his position near the window to a seat next to Heather.

Before long, Gray Anderson's voice along that of Major Beck could be heard echoing through the hallways along with the footsteps of several people. "Well, in this way gentlemen," Heather could hear Gray explain as he entered the door way. He was followed by Major Beck, four members of the Texas National Guard and a gentleman dressed in a polo shirt and kakis.

"Hello, everyone," Major Beck said as he came in. He went into introducing the four guardsmen, and then introduced the civilian, "This is Peter West who's in charge of getting the equipment set up."

"Are these all the people you brought?" Jake asked incredulously feeling like six people was not nearly enough to run a military communications center.

"No, I've got one more, but she's still downstairs," Beck explained. "This group is merely here to set up the center. We've got more people coming in a few days once everything is set up."

"Major, we have some concerns over the placement of this 'center' in Jericho," Eric commented as the group all found seats.

Heather gave Eric an incredulous look.

Catching Heather's look Jake explained, "I think what my brother means is that he's concerned, as are most of us, that by allowing you guys to come here we're making ourselves a target."

"I understand that this town has been through a lot in the past year and you have done your share and then some. If there was anywhere else we could locate we would, but Jericho has the best location for what we need," Major Beck explained.

"Major, why not Goodland or some other town?" Gray asked.

"Goodland is too close to I-70 and every other town is either too small or too remote," Beck answered. "I understand your concerns, but this communication center is not going to make you much more of a target than you were before. Right now you are harboring two of the ASA's most wanted. I'd be more worried about that," Beck said looking at Jake.

Jake swallowed back the guilt at knowing that he'd put the town in danger by his return, but when Jake and Hawkins had weighed their options, coming home seemed best.

Heather shook her head. "Guys, this isn't about Jericho anymore. It's about more than that. Can't you see?" Heather asked in frustration. She'd expected Gray to question the whole thing, but Eric and Jake were a surprise. She figured that of all the people they would know what was at stake.

No one said anything.

"Texas understands that this may put a strain on your resources and so they will be providing you fuel and other resources as compensation," Major Beck added hoping that would win them over.

Eric, Jake, and Gray nodded in agreement as soon as they heard the word fuel. They were able to trade for a lot of things using Dale, but fuel was impossible to come by. They had windmills for power, but they still need fuel for vehicles and few generators that were needed to run different things from time to time.

"Well, where do we begin?" Heather asked trying to get the discussion back on track.

"We need to figure out location," Major Beck answered. "The group is in agreement that they do not want it located here at town hall. It would put everyone too at risk."

"How much room do you need?"

"Space for computers, equipment, a place for satellite dishes, and about a dozen people."

"Why not the high school?" Eric suggested. "School's permanently out for the foreseeable future and it has plenty of room."

"Sounds like a good place," Major replied and he turned to Peter, "You mind going out there and checking it out to see if it will work?"

"No problem Major," Peter answered with a southern drawl.

Jake turned to Bill, "Why don't you walk him over to the high school? You've got the keys, right?"

"Yeah, I've got them," Bill replied as he got up from his seat and left the room with a wave to Peter, the IT guru, to follow him.

"What about accommodations?" Heather asked. "Where are you going to house these guys and the rest of them? It's going to be winter soon. Where can we put them?"

"They could just stay at the high school," Jake suggested. "It has water, showers. Only problem is electricity."

"That won't be a problem," Beck answered. "We have a generator and fuel. High school sounds good, especially if that is where we are going to put the equipment."

"Well, it sounds like you have yourselves a plan," Gray replied happy to know that they would not be occupying the town hall again. He could deal with them at the High School or anywhere else in town, but having them underfoot would undermine his authority and that was a pain in the neck the last time.

"Heather, do you mind working with them on rounding up the equipment that was left by J & R?" Beck asked. He had hoped that Heather, who now wasn't leading the Rangers, would take a role in the communications center.

"No problem," Heather said as she always did.

Jake shook his head. Heather didn't know how to say no. "No heavy lifting," Jake interjected. "She can point out the stuff, but you're not moving it."

"Jake!" Heather exclaimed upset by his presumption.

"What's this all about?" Major Beck asked in confusion.

Eric and Gray took that as their cue to leave. The four guardsmen followed suit.

"I'm pregnant," Heather answered giving Jake a nasty look for making her reveal the information to the Major.

"And you didn't say anything!" Major Beck yelled expressing a temper that he normally kept in check. He'd already been upset with himself over putting Heather in danger. This changed everything. "How long have you known?"

Heather was quiet. Beck had a strong amount of guilt over his missing wife which Heather knew was still haunting him. He had felt like he'd let his wife down and his family. She was afraid that this news would be another layer of guilt that Beck would have to deal with. She wasn't sure what to say to make him feel better. "A few months," Heather confessed.

"Heather had I known…" Beck trailed off. He wasn't sure what to say. Beyond Heather being a colleague, he considered her a friend and knew that she'd been through a lot over the past year. He thought she trusted him enough to share something as important as this with him.

"Major, what's done is done," Jake replied calmly in Heather's defense. "I'm not too happy about all of the danger she's been putting herself into either, but that's water over the bridge. She's going to be more careful now aren't you?" Jake asked Heather.

"I'm not eight years old," Heather complained. "But I will be careful."

"You will be and that's an order," Major Beck sternly replied. He already had felt a tremendous amount of guilt over putting Heather in danger, but knowing that she was pregnant the whole while made his heart ache. He shook off the feelings over it. "And I'm going to be around to make sure you keep it."

"What!?" Jake asked.

"I've been reassigned."

"Why?" Heather asked not understanding why they'd pull him away from his troops.

"It's Texas's show now, not mine. They want they're commanders in charge," Beck explained in a much calmer demeanor than when he'd first been told of his orders. Once he had met the people he was going to work with, the whole thing had become more palatable. "It's good though. I'm going to be in charge of the communication center."

"You know, just to warn you, you don't have a lot of fans around here," Jake warned. Jake had images of a mob with pitch forks and torches chasing Beck down.

"I understand. I plan on keeping a very low profile. I'm not here to run your town or deal with your security issues. My being here is solely to deal with the center," Beck assured Jake knowing that his presence in town would not be looked on favorably.

"You said there is another team member. Who is she?" Heather asked recalling what Beck had said earlier trying to get to a less distressing topic.

"Oh, that would be our meteorologist, Doctor Taylor. She got stuck on the phone with someone in Key West. They've got a hurricane headed in their direction without a means of evacuation. It's a dire situation."

"Natalie Taylor?" Heather asked with hopefulness in her voice.

"Yes, she said she was from Jericho. You know her? The doctor said she'd been trying to get home for months. Finally, some friends in high places helped her get assigned here," Beck explained.

Heather smiled as she realized how happy Jimmy and Bill would be once they found out. Then guilt flooded her as she realized that Natalie would find out that the man she'd been trying to come home to had started up a relationship with Heather. Not that it had been much of a relationship, but Heather knew that if she'd been dating a man who had been on the verge of proposing and he'd gone off with some other girl while she was missing, she'd be pretty pissed off. Heather wasn't sure if she should laugh or cry realizing that in the span of a little over four months she'd been the other woman twice. She smiled bigger trying not to cry. _Damn those pregnancy hormones!_ Heather thought to herself.

"What are you smiling at?" Jake asked in confusion.

"Natalie Taylor is Jimmy's sister," Heather explained, but didn't mention Bill. He was a sore subject between Heather and Jake as Jake still hadn't gotten over her letting Bill stay with her for a couple of days while his mother tended to his sick brother and his family.

"Oh, that Natalie Taylor," Jake said in understanding. Jake hadn't seen Natalie in years. She'd been gone away at school in the years before Jake had left. He remembered her name on the list of the missing or away from town when the bombs happened.

"I'm glad that she was able to get back here to her family," Beck replied. "From my interactions with her, she seems like a very sweet woman. She's well liked by the team members."

Heather felt even guiltier. Natalie was a "sweet woman." Heather was on the verge of an all out panic attack when she heard footsteps come toward the door. She took a deep breath and tried to push back her feelings.

"Major?" a female voice came from the doorway. The woman who appeared was a different creature than the one that Heather had seen in the picture that Bill kept by his bed. Her hair was still brown and her eyes were still blue, but she was much thinner and had a weary, tired look of someone who'd seen too much. Heather supposed Natalie wasn't any different than anyone else who had live through the past year. No place was immune from the effects.

"There you are," Major Beck replied. "Doctor, is all okay?"

"Not really, but there's nothing I can do about it," the young woman answered removing her brown tortoise framed glasses as she wiped away sweat and tears from her face with a handkerchief she was carrying. Her long dark brown hair was thrown up in a careless ponytail. "I lost contact with them."

"God have mercy," Beck solemnly replied knowing the desperate situation.

"In the old days, we would've evacuated them, but with most of southeast Florida is a radioactive wasteland, there's no escape route by land," the woman explained as she slumped down in a chair across from the group. She folded her glasses and put them in her collar. "Those people are stuck down there with a category five hurricane barreling down on them."

"Doctor, this is Heather Lisinski and Jake…"

"…Green. Hi Jake," Natalie finished for him with a small smile of recognition. "Heather and I have also met before."

"Hey Natalie," Jake said giving her a quick smile. "Seen your brother yet?"

"No, I just got off the phone and I came up here, but I see I missed the meeting."

"Not much of a meeting," Heather assured her as she regained her composure.

"Bill Koehler was escorting Peter to the high school. I think that is where we are going to put the equipment," Major Beck explained.

Natalie gave a sad smile at the mention of Bill's name and nodded in acknowledgment.

"Well, I think I am going to find out where those guardsmen went off to," Beck declared not wanting to get involved any more than he had to in these people's personal affairs. "I'm sure you are going to want to do some catching up and find your brother and family."

"Yeah," Natalie replied.

"If Peter thinks the high school is going to work, we'll start set up tomorrow. It's too late to start this evening."

"Sounds good, Major," Heather answered.

"Congratulations," Major Beck hollowly offered to Jake and Heather as he got up.

"Thanks," Jake replied matching Beck's tone.

"Doctor, I'll see you later."

Major Beck exited the room leaving Heather, Jake, and Natalie looking around at each other not sure what to say. Natalie was curious as to what the major was congratulating the two of them on, but she really didn't feel comfortable broaching the subject. Heather wasn't sure what she should say to Natalie, the almost fiancé of her ex-boyfriend (if you could call him that).

Jake finally broke the silence, "So, you're back? Major said you've been trying to get back here for the past year. Where were you?"

"Long story, but I'll give you the brief synopsis. I was in Corpus Christi to meet with a friend on the day of the bombs. Anyway, I got stuck in Texas. They closed the borders pretty quickly after the attacks and wouldn't let anyone in or out of the state. I tried for months to get out, but it was just a mess. Finally, they were looking for volunteers to go to the front lines to aid with the fight, so I volunteered. At the time I wasn't sure I was even going to get to Kansas, let alone Jericho, but here I am."

"You joined the Army?" Heather asked. Natalie was dressed in a sort of military uniform. She was wearing an olive green t-shirt, cami-pants, and black combat boots. An ID badge of some sort was hanging around her neck.

"Oh, the outfit," Natalie remarked realizing her appearance might give the wrong impression. "No, I don't like guns," Natalie answered furling her brow and shaking her head.

"Yet, you come to the war zone with a bunch of guys carrying them," Jake quipped suspicious of Natalie and her arrival in Jericho. Jake was suspicious of anyone and anything attached to Texas. After the reception he got there, he still wasn't sure where Texas's involvement in this war would lead.

"Yeah, kind of ironic isn't it," Natalie responded with a chuckle. She quickly changed subjects, "My brother, he's okay isn't he? His family? I mean Major Beck updated me as much as he could. He said my brother was Sheriff?"

"Yeah, the original Sheriff and most of the deputies save your brother and Bill were killed in the first days after the attack. Jimmy was the most senior member of the Sheriff's department, so he got the job," Jake explained.

"My brother is Sheriff," Natalie said in disbelief. Her brother was not the kind of guy who sought out leadership roles. He was the least ambitious man she knew. She immediately scratched that; the least ambitious man she knew was Bill. "Well, I suppose it's a lot more likely than Bill."

"Oh, I think we would've revolted if Bill was Sheriff," Jake joked.

"Yeah, you're probably right. He can be a difficult to deal with," Natalie remarked.

"He's not that bad," Heather interjected trying to defend Bill.

"Oh, don't get me wrong. I love the man, dearly," Natalie assured Heather. "You won't find a more loyal man when it comes to protecting his family or doing his job, but even I have to admit he's got issues."

Jake smiled at the Natalie's statement.

"Not that you're any better Jake Green," Natalie admonished Jake. "When Beck told me what you'd done and that you were in charge of the security force here in Jericho I nearly died laughing. I mean you spent your entire life avoiding responsibility and now you're actively seeking it?"

"People change," Jake defended.

"Oh, I agree with you. Look at me, I chose a career where I get to spend most of my time behind a computer never talking to anybody. Now, all I seem to do if field calls from the President's office."

"Which one?" Heather asked as she and Jake gave each other shared looks of concern.

"Depends on the day," Natalie replied not wanting to get into the particulars of her job at the moment or to explain how everyone above her in the National Weather Service was dead or missing.

"Wow, must be pretty exciting" Heather said in mock awe.

"It's not nearly as glamorous as it sounds," Natalie sarcastically returned. "It's not like I'm going to get a statue or something. When the war is over, no one is every going to list Natalie Taylor in any history book."

"Well, I doubt I am going to get a mention either," Heather laughed.

"Jake might have a shot at 'Paul Revere' kind of notoriety," Natalie replied. From her experience in Texas, people's views of Jake went from the range of folk hero to the Anti-Christ.

"Oh, God I hope not," Jake replied with a groan.

Natalie looked down at her watch, "I should go find my brother. Got any ideas where he might be?"

"He should be around here somewhere. I'll get on the radio and track him down," Jake replied getting up and heading out to help Natalie find her brother.

Natalie grabbed Heather's arm, "Can we talk for a moment, alone?"


	8. Chapter 8 Revised

It's Not Over: Chapter 8: REVISED

Rating: PG-13 (Adult Language and Situations).

Disclaimer: The name "Jericho" and all character names and trademarks associated with the television program are the intellectual property of Junction Entertainment, Fixed Mark Productions, CBS Paramount Television and/or CBS Studios, Inc. The following story is intended solely as an intellectual exercise without profit motive. No infringement of copyright is intended or should be implied.

Notes: After doing some soul searching and communicating with a few people, I have reworked Chapters 7 through 12. Some changes are minor and others are significant. Overall, the plot is the same, just certain characters and their actions have been changed/corrected. Thanks to JT, mainemom22, and jordanmr. As always, feedback is appreciated. Let me know if you like/hate like what I've done. The only way writers get better is to know where their weaknesses and strengths lie.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Natalie had asked to speak to Heather alone for a moment, Heather was sure that she'd wanted to confront her about Bill. She assumed that Major Beck, who seemed to have taken a much more eager interest in her private life lately, had informed her that the two of them were seeing each other. She could only imagine what Natalie might be feeling; coming home and finding out that the man you planned on spending the rest of your life with had moved on with someone else.

"Are you okay?" Natalie asked worry evident in her voice as she noticed Heather looking like she was about to lose it. She sat down next Heather leaning forward in the chair and started messing with the laces on her boots trying to adjust them.

"I'm so sorry," Heather said as she bent over trying to push back the panic attack that was about to overtake her.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Natalie asked again not sure what was causing Heather's distress. She looked over at Heather who was leaning over as well. "If you're not feeling well, I can talk to you some other time."

"No. It's okay," Heather said sitting up trying to overcome the emotions that were threatening to defeat her. "I'd just like to get this over with."

"Thanks. I'll try and make this quick," Natalie replied taking a deep breath and sitting back up in the chair. She looked down at her watch to see that the time was 5:35 in the evening. Natalie wanted to get going, but like Heather she just wanted to get this conversation over with.

"Is this about Bill and me?" Heather quickly asked making use of the Natalie's pause.

"Uh, what? You and Bill?" Natalie said in confusion as she had no clue what Heather was talking about.

"You didn't know? I mean I thought Major Beck had given you an update on everyone. I figured he would've told you," Heather explained.

"What are you talking about?" Natalie asked still confused.

"Oh, I should just shut up," Heather remarked finally realizing that the other woman had no clue what she was talking about. Heather felt like such a fool assuming that Natalie knew about her short, chaste relationship with Bill.

"You can't do that to me," Natalie said with a nervous laugh. "What about you and Bill?"

"Bill and I sort of dated for a few months," Heather said sheepishly. "I thought Beck told you and that was what you wanted to confront me about."

Natalie shook her head, "No. Major Beck didn't mention a word about it. When he found out I was from Jericho, he gave me an update on what had been happening and let me know about my brother. I didn't ask many questions." One thing she learned from the past year was don't ask too many questions. Those questions often give away too much information which can mean the difference between survival and death.

"I feel so bad. I really think he thought you weren't coming back," Heather tried to explain.

"Heather, there's nothing to feel bad about. It would be naïve of me to think that he would just keep his life on hold for over a year on the almost non-existent chance that I'd show up again," Natalie explained sadness tinting her voice.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, we weren't that serious and we're over."

Natalie smiled and shook her head, "There you go again. Don't worry about it; I wasn't here. As far as everyone was concerned, they probably figured I was dead," Natalie stated.

"How can you be so understanding" Heather commented as she looked at the calm woman before her. If she was upset at all about any of it, she didn't show it in her voice or her demeanor.

"Heather, I've been gone for a year, a very long year. I've seen things I never thought I'd see and had to do things that I would rather not think about. Right now, being home is enough for me" Natalie tried to explain.

"So, if you didn't want to discuss Bill, then what did you want to discuss?"

"Mike Anderson asked me to talk to you on his behalf," Natalie blurted out. She had planned this eloquent introduction to the topic, but Heather's "confession" had pretty much ruined it.

"Mike Anderson? You spoke to him. He's alive?" Heather asked.

"He's alive and well. In fact, you'll get to see for yourself next week. He's coming with some additional personnel," Natalie said as she reached into one of the pockets in her pants and pulled out a letter. "He also gave this to me to give to you."

Heather gave her look of disbelief as she took the letter from Natalie's hand. She hadn't spoken with Mike or heard from him since the day he left six months before the bombs. Mike coming back was probably one of the last things she'd ever imagined would happen. Heather stared at the letter that was in her hands tracing her name where Mike had neatly written it.

"I don't know what he said in the letter, but I do know that he regretted the way he left things with you and with his father. He wanted me to give it to you before he arrived. He didn't want to hurt you again."

"How did you and Mike end up meeting?" Heather asked curious about how two people from Jericho would end up finding each other in Texas.

"Oh, that's another story for another day," Natalie replied with a sigh.

"Why didn't he come with you today?" Heather asked. "Is he okay?"

"He's doing fine and working in Dodge City right now setting up an outpost. I think he volunteered to stay there for a few more days, hoping that if you were warned ahead of time, maybe his reception wouldn't be as cold."

"What does he want? Why is he bothering to come back?" Heather asked more to herself than to Natalie.

"As far as I know, Mike's not expecting anything," Natalie defended her friend. "I know Mike left things a mess with you and his father, but he's really trying to make a fresh start."

"Thank you for letting me know," Heather replied with her mind reeling from the news. She didn't really believe that Mike could change, but she knew it wasn't something that she could confront Natalie about.

Natalie stood up and was ready to leave when she suddenly thought of something else, "One more thing. Major Beck said you were good with machines. Would you be willing to help me see if we can get some meteorological equipment working again?" Natalie asked. "I salvaged it from an Air Force base outside of Oklahoma City."

"Of course," Heather said in relief. "If you still want to even deal with me."

"How many times do I have to say it? Let the whole thing go," Natalie tried to reassure her as she stood up to leave. "I better get going."

The two women left the room. Heather actually had calmed down quite a bit which even surprised Heather. With the news that Mike was coming back in town, her life was going to be an even bigger mess. Somehow, Natalie had managed to make Heather feel better. Major Beck had been correct when she had described Natalie as a "sweet woman." If it had been Emily, she would've gone into hysterics and made Heather feel even worse. Heather still hadn't spoken to Emily since she'd confronted Jake. She wasn't sure what to say and was pretty sure she wouldn't get nearly as a nice a reception as she'd gotten from Natalie, but Emily had a lot more reasons to be angry with Heather.

Just as they entered the hallway, Natalie's cell phone chirped and she looked down to see who was calling. "I've got to take this. I'll be down in a minute," Natalie said as she went back into the meeting room that they'd just left.

Heather debated whether to wait where she was or go down stairs and confront Jake about what he'd pulled during the meeting with Major Beck. After waiting a good minute, Heather decided that she'd confront Jake and headed down the stairs alone. Heather found Jake working the radio.

Jake looked up from his place, "What's been keeping you two?"

"Just talked for a minute."

"Where's Natalie?" Jake asked looking past Heather.

"I'm here," Natalie called out overhearing Jake's question as she entered the sheriff's station.

"Where's Jimmy?" Heather asked realizing that she wasn't going to get to confront Jake, not that she would have with one of the deputies sitting in the office.

"He's over at the high school. Bill grabbed the wrong keys," Jake answered in disgust. "Man can't do something as simple as get keys."

"Is that where the rest of them headed too?" Natalie asked ignoring Jake's irritation.

"Yeah," Jake answered.

"Then I better head over in that direction," Natalie explained. "Heather, it was nice talking to you."

"Hey, I'll walk you over," Heather replied wanting to see the reunion between Natalie and Jimmy. It would be nice to see something happy for once. It seemed most of her life was filled with doom and gloom. Heather took the letter she was still holding and put into the drawer of her desk.

"I'll go, too," Jake chimed in. "It's going to be dark soon and you shouldn't be walking alone in the evening."

"But we're not alone," Heather pointed out. This whole over protectiveness thing was going to have to end soon. It was getting irritating having him walk her everywhere. Since Jake had found out about the baby and the price placed on her head by Constantino, he'd insisted she never go anywhere alone.

"I meant without a male escort," Jake responded.

"You know, I could go by myself," Natalie offered hoping that would end the dispute.

"I need to go in that direction anyway," Jake replied.

Natalie looked like she was going to say something else, but didn't.

So, the three of them walked to the High school with Natalie a few steps ahead. Natalie allowed herself to get distracted by Jake and Heather's conversation.

"I can't believe you did that back there!" Heather exclaimed in a hushed tone to Jake.

"What did I do?" Jake asked innocently.

"Make me tell Major Beck that I'm pregnant," Heather replied

"I didn't. I just told him to not let you do any heavy lifting," Jake replied innocently. "I'm sorry if I offended you."

"You know, I am an adult capable of taking care of myself."

"I know. I just worry that you are doing too much," Jake explained.

"This is why I didn't want to tell anyone. I knew once people knew I was pregnant everybody would start treating me differently. A week ago, I was a strong leader, someone they looked to for answers. Now, everyone treats me like I'm some piece of china or something."

"Why don't we talk about this later? I am sure that Natalie doesn't want to hear us discuss this."

"Don't mind me," Natalie threw back at the pair hoping they'd continue. She was really hoping that someone would mention who the father of this baby was, but she wasn't going to push it. She was concerned that Heather hadn't told her the whole truth about her relationship with Bill. She quickly decided that she had better not get involved and didn't interject herself into their conversation.

With that, neither Jake nor Heather were interested in continuing it either and remained quiet. Natalie tried to think of something to say, but was coming up blank. Every subject she could come up with seemed to touch a matter she'd rather not discuss. So she trudged ahead to the school in hopes of seeing her brother. She looked to the western sky and stopped which made Heather and Jake stop as well.

Heather looked at her curiously, "What is it?"

"A storm is coming," Natalie declared with a smile as she looked at the dark clouds to the west. The horizon was colored with red, purple, yellows as the sun began to set.

"Yeah, you're right. Maybe the heat wave is breaking?" Jake suggested.

Before Natalie could answer, four men quickly approached them from behind grabbing the three of them from the street and dragging them to a nearby alley. They placed their hands over the trio's mouths which didn't allow any of them to speak or yell and before Jake could grab his gun. "Which one's her?" one of the men with a scraggily beard asked holding Heather.

"I dunno, I've never seen her. They just described her as brunette with blue eyes. That fits both these chicks."

"We'll take 'em both," one of the other men replied holding Natalie. "We'll figure it out later."

"What do we do with him?" the very large man holding Jake asked. With that Jake started to struggle to get himself from the grasp of the man, but he was about twice Jake's size making it nearly impossible for Jake to escape. The man quickly took Jake's gun from its holster. Jake looked over at Natalie and Heather who were both still struggling. He weighed the odds and knew that he wouldn't be able to fight four men by himself. He could probably escape if he tried, but he knew he wouldn't be able to get Natalie or Heather free and he couldn't leave the two women alone with these men. Jake chided himself for having his guard down and finally gave up deciding that he needed to save his strength.

"Take him," the man holding Natalie replied. "That's Jake Green. We'll get a bonus."

With that, Jake, Heather, and Natalie were at the mercy of the four men. Heather couldn't believe she'd allowed herself to be taken like this. She'd always been so careful, keeping an eye out, but she'd been distracted by Jake who was not doing much to help get them out of this situation. As Heather squirmed, she took a quick glance over at Natalie who looked panicked as tears came down her face. The men put gags over their mouths and tied their hands behind their backs.

"All clear," a man who was not holding anyone loudly whispered from the entrance to the alleyway. They rushed the trio out on to the empty street and across the way into the safety of a field nearby.

"Don't try anything," the man warned into Heather's ear as they made a mad rush for the wooded area off in the distance behind the buildings of Main Street.

The men dragged the trio further into the woods walking for what Heather figured must have been a mile or two. In that time, the sun had begun to set and the woods were getting dark. Finally, when Heather thought she wouldn't be able to walk any more they stopped at a clearing near a large oak tree. "What time is it?" one of the men asked.

"Ride won't be here for another thirty minutes. We'll sit here and wait and then walk out to the meeting point. No one will find us in here," the man who seemed to be charge explained. The men had set them Heather, Jake, and Natalie against a tree and had one man with a gun trained on them.

Natalie looked up at the man who had just spoken trying to point to her name tag to show that she wasn't who they were looking for. He removed her gag. "Look, at my name tag. I don't think I'm who you are looking for," Natalie begged.

The man looked at the name tag and read her name. "What does that matter? It's probably just a trick," the man replied not wanting to believe he'd been stupid enough not to have looked at the name tag sooner.

"See who I work for? Do you really want to kidnap a Texas State official?" Natalie tried to reason with him. She knew it was a long shot that he'd just let her go, but it had worked on distracting the man enough for her to get them to remove the gag off and for her to reach the knife in her back pocket. She figured out pretty quickly that these guys were about as dumb as a pile of rocks when they hadn't frisked either of the women. Heather wasn't wearing anything that she could've concealed anything, but Natalie was wearing pants with lots of pockets.

Natalie had already made the decision that no matter what she wasn't going any farther with these men. She had already figured out that Jake and Heather weren't going to get her out of this situation and that she was going to have to save herself. She hadn't gotten all the way back to Jericho to be killed before she even got to see her family.

The man didn't seem open to reason and shook his head in disgust. "Who the hell cares about Texas? Anyway, I don't think you're in any position to be askin' any questions, bitch," the man snarled at her.

Natalie said nothing in response. Heather could feel Natalie trying to work on the tie that was holding her hands behind her. She must have used that attempt at conversation to get to something to help her get loose. Heather worried that Natalie might bring something horrible down upon the three of them trying to get herself free. Heather took a glance over a Jake who was sitting still. She thought about getting up and running for it, but she knew she wouldn't get far with her hands tied behind her back. Heather didn't see anyway out of this situation. She hoped Jake would come up with something. All of the sudden, Heather felt the ties on her wrists be cut and knew that Natalie had done it.

When the man holding the gun on them turned away, Natalie whispered into Heather's ear, "Next time that guy turns the other way; we run for it."

Heather, who was still gagged, nodded in agreement.

Natalie was at weird angle and couldn't reach Jake's wrists without possibly cutting him and knew she was going to have to give him the knife so he could get himself free. When the man turned again for a brief moment, Natalie whispered to Jake as she handed him the knife, "As soon as we get an opportunity, Heather and I are going to run for it. You're welcome to join us." She wasn't sure what Jake would do, but at this point she didn't care.

"What are you whispering about back there? Don't get any ideas," the man holding the gun on them warned. It wasn't too much time before the man was distracted again. The three other men were talking back and forth about what their reward would be for getting the traitor, Heather Lisinski and what the bonus would be for bringing in Jake Green. The man in charge of watching the three captives became diverted by the talk and turned his back on them for a few moments. It was just enough time for Heather and Natalie to make their move and start running, but Jake didn't join them. Heather could hear the clap of thunder as rain started to fall. The last that Heather saw of Jake was of him taking cover in the behind some brush near the clearing.

Heather knew they were being followed and could hear the man's footsteps as he ran to find them. Heather couldn't believe that Jake hadn't taken the chance to escape. It would be like him to play hero. Within a few minutes, the man had stopped. Jake had probably done something stupid to distract him so the two women could get away. Natalie stopped and leaned against a tree trying to catch her breath. She started feeling through her pockets looking for something.

"Success!" Natalie declared in a heavy whisper as she pulled out her cell phone. Before Heather could ask her how Natalie had a phone on her, she was on it. Heather could only hear Natalie's side of the conversation. "Major."

"Yeah, we're out here in the woods."

"Well, I thought what the heck, I'd go for a stroll," Natalie sarcastically replied to something the Major had said.

"Some guys grabbed us."

"No, I don't know who they are. I think they were primarily after Heather."

"Heather and I are okay for now."

"Jake. Well, Jake's just trying to play Rambo or something," Natalie said rolling her eyes at Heather.

"We are approximately two miles south-south east of main street."

"Please send someone ASAP. It sounded like these guys have friends coming real soon," Natalie urged into the phone and she clicked it closed. Natalie turned to Heather, "Major Beck is sending some guys to us right now. Hopefully they get here before Jake gets himself killed."

"You had a phone this whole time?" Heather asked incredulously.

"Well, I didn't really have a chance to use it until now did I?" Natalie pointed out putting the phone back in her pocket.

"So, should we go save Jake?" Heather asked.

"You can if you want, but I'm staying right here," Natalie replied rubbing her wrists. She had caught herself with the knife and had nicked her wrist.

"You're going to let him die?" Heather asked incredulously.

"Heather, I'm not going after those guys," Natalie replied shaking her head.

"Sounds like something Bill would say," Heather replied in disgust. "I'm going." Heather took a deep breath and headed back to the clearing where they had left the men.

Natalie rolled her eyes quietly swore at herself and followed Heather back to where they had come from. As she caught up with Heather, she stage whispered, "I'll take that as a compliment. A healthy desire for self-preservation is always a good thing."

Heather didn't say anything in response instead focusing on Jake who was crouching over the man who had been in charge of watching them. Heather inspected the man's body and saw that his throat was slit. Natalie, huddled down next to Jake, seemed not phased by the whole situation, but Heather even after all she seen and done was still shocked. She looked down at the ground to see the man who had been chasing them with his throat slit bleeding out. Heather swallowed back bile as nausea came over her. Before Heather could ponder anything, the other men had noticed that they were missing.

"Where in the hell are they?" a man could be heard asking.

"Weaver?! Weaver?! Damn it! Where are you?" another man called out.

Natalie started fumbling with the dead man grabbing his gun and ammo. She looked to Jake who at this point looked a bit shocked at what he had just done.

Sure, he'd killed a man before, but never like this. It was amazing that even after everything he'd gone through that killing someone still got to him.

It took Heather to get him to come back to reality. "Snap out of it," Heather urged Jake noticing his trance like state. "Either you go after them or I'm going after them, but we can't just sit here. Thanks to you, we can't just run for it and the Calvary doesn't seem to be showing up."

Natalie was watching for the men as Heather and Jake discussed their next move and looked back, "You know it might be better to just stay here."

Heather and Jake gave each other a looks trying to decide who was right. Finally, Jake shook his head and wiped the rain from wet face. "I'll go," Jake replied as he handed Natalie a bloody knife and took the gun and ammo she was holding.

"Is he trying to get himself killed?" Natalie incredulously asked Heather.

Heather didn't say anything in return as she looked where Jake had gone. She would have rather gone with Jake, but with only one gun, she wouldn't be much help. Now she was forced to wait for Jake to come back hopefully in one piece.

Natalie wiped the blood that coated it the dead man's pants and waited behind the bush as Jake went after the other men. The rain had started to fall even harder and Heather could feel the wind pick up. She started to shiver as her clothes became drenched and the air began to cool. Before Heather could even think about how cold she was, she heard the sound of gunfire ring out into the ever darkening forest. Heather worried that Jake had taken on too much in taking the three other men on by himself. Jake should have come back and gotten them. At least with all of them fighting, they might have had a chance. Heather started weighing their options as the minutes ticked by and Jake hadn't come back. There was no sign of the men that Natalie had called for. Just as Heather was going to suggest they go after Jake, he returned limping, drenched to the bone, but very much alive.

"What happened?" Heather asked.

"They're dead," Jake replied his face hidden by the darkness. He collapsed onto a nearby log.

Natalie turned to Jake, "We need to take all the valuables from the bodies, find their IDs, and get out of this forest before their friends decide to show up."

"Why?" Heather asked not understanding what the purpose would be.

"So, I can give them to my brother to investigate who did this," Natalie explained handing Heather a flashlight that one of the men had. "Hold this so I can see what they've got on them."

Natalie searched the first body of the man whose throat Jake had slit and took a wallet and a wedding ring like she done this before. She looked inside the wallet, "It looks like the guy came from New Bern." She slid the wedding ring into the wallet and put into one of the many pockets of her pants. Nice thing about military issued pants was that there was plenty of room in the pockets.

Walking further into the clearing in the woods, Heather and Natalie came upon another body, and even in the dark recognized it as another one of the men who had taken them, the leader. He was a large man who had easily over-powered Jake. Heather couldn't believe that Jake had been able to take the man down so easily. Unlike the first body she'd found, he had been shot in the chest. She felt for a pulse, but found none.

"Heather, the guy's dead," Natalie complained as she quickly reached into the man's pockets looking for a wallet. Natalie removed the man's watch and a gold chain he'd been wearing around his neck and put it in a pocket of her pants. Natalie grabbed the man's gun and handed it to Heather. "Here, take this. You might need it later."

Heather looked and within twenty feet, she found the other two men, both dead with gun shot wounds one to the back of the head the other one in the back. It was obvious to Heather that the men had been running from the scene, but she shook off the thoughts of what Jake had done. Instead of considering it more, Heather, covered in mud from kneeling down and drenched to the bone, held the flashlight so that Natalie could retrieve what she could from the bodies.

"We need to get out of these woods," Natalie declared as she rested on a fallen log next Jake.

"Yeah, my leg's killing me, we're covered in mud, drenched to the bone, and the temperature is falling," Jake replied.

"Yeah, I agree," Heather answered leaning against a nearby tree. "What happened to your leg?"

"One of the guys got me right before they went down. Luckily the bullet just grazed my calf," Jake replied taking a flashlight and getting a good look at. "I'm going to need stitches."

"Where's that backup you called?" Heather asked Natalie.

"I have no clue," Natalie said not quite sure what had happened to the men that Major Beck had promised to send. She found her phone again and tried to dial, but wasn't getting any signal.

"What back up?" Jake asked.

"I called Major Beck about twenty minutes ago to see about getting us some help."

"You had a phone?" Jake asked.

"Isn't that what I just said?" Natalie replied in annoyance.

"Are you okay to walk?" Heather asked Jake ignoring the banter back and forth between Natalie and Jake.

"Yeah," Jake replied as he got up and started walking back through the woods and to town. Heather and Natalie wordlessly followed.

It was Heather who finally broke the silence as she looked over at Natalie who was walking with obvious determination as she trudged through the mud back to civilization. "Natalie thanks for getting us loose back there," Heather declared.

"No problem," Natalie quietly replied.

"How did you do it?" Heather asked curious how the woman who had looked so panicked earlier managed to get herself together enough to get the three of them free.

"I don't know. All I knew was that I wanted to get home and that I wasn't going to let those guys take me anywhere else."

"Have you been in a situation like this before?" Jake asked wondering how she knew to distract the men in order to get to her knife and cut their ties.

"Not exactly like this, but it's not like I've been living under a rock or something. Texas didn't just pop up after the bombs this great and wonderful government that had control of its borders. For the first five months, south Texas, especially around the Mexican border, was pretty much the Wild West. A part of it still is. As a woman without any family or anyone to protect me, I had to learn to be a quick thinker and be smart about taking care of myself. Though, I screwed up by letting them take me out to these woods in the first place. Jimmy is going to be so pissed at me."

"Why?" Heather asked not sure how Jimmy could put any blame on Natalie.

"He spent hours going over that self-defense stuff with me. I used to live in DC and he was worried that someone would take me off the street so every time I'd come home he'd march me through the rules. Rule number one is to not let them take you to a secondary location."

"Jimmy sounds like a good brother," Heather replied.

"He is."

"So, how'd you make it?" Jake asked trying to see if he could garner more information out of Natalie.

"Got lucky, I guess," Natalie replied not wanting to go into the details of the past year with them. She knew that eventually all would come out, but she figured her family deserved to find out first.

Jake and Heather both had many questions for Natalie, but both knew that now was not the time to getting answers. No one said anything further as they finally walked from the woods and to the headlights of awaiting trucks.


	9. Chapter 9 Revised

It's Not Over: Chapter 9: REVISED

Rating: PG-13 (Adult Language and Situations).  
Disclaimer: The name "Jericho" and all character names and trademarks associated with the television program are the intellectual property of Junction Entertainment, Fixed Mark Productions, CBS Paramount Television and/or CBS Studios, Inc. The following story is intended solely as an intellectual exercise without profit motive. No infringement of copyright is intended or should be implied.

Notes: After doing some soul searching and communicating with a few people, I have reworked Chapters 7 through 12. Some changes are minor and others are significant. Overall, the plot is the same, just certain characters and their actions have been changed/corrected. Thanks to JT, mainemom22, and jordanmr. As always, feedback is appreciated.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Heather found a chair just inside the Jake's exam room at the Med Center. She was in a hospital gown wrapped in a couple of blankets still shivering from being so cold and wet earlier. She was waiting to be examined along with Jake, but Heather was getting antsy to leave. She was tired and really wanted to go home, but even if she made her escape she wasn't going to disappear without Jake.

"How are you doing?" Heather asked Jake who was sitting on the exam table still in his wet clothes with his leg exposed waiting for Kenchy to come in to stitch him up.

"Believe it or not, this is not that bad," Jake replied with a half-smile looking down at his leg. He'd been in worst shape before. How many times in the past year had he been hurt? He'd lost count.

"I wonder why Kenchy still hasn't come."

"He was here a few minutes ago and said he would be back with supplies," Jake replied.

Heather nodded. "If you want, I could sew you up. I mean sewing up a person, can't be that much different than sewing clothes," Heather joked.

"No offense, but I'm not letting you near me with any sharp objects," Jake replied lightheartedly.

"That's probably a good idea because at the moment I'm pretty pissed off at you," Heather complained.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"What the hell were you doing tonight?" Heather angrily asked.

"Trying to protect you," Jake replied coolly.

"Why did you fight them? We could've easily outrun those men, but instead you decide to attack."

"I wasn't sure that we would all three make it without getting caught. I figured I'd act as a distraction."

"You were acting more like some action hero," Heather corrected him remembering Natalie's comment to Major Beck.

"It was a sacrifice I was willing to make to save you and our child's life."

"You had no gun. What would the town have done if something had happened to you? What would I have done?" Heather asked in frustration. She couldn't understand why he didn't know how much he meant to her and to Jericho.

"Look, I did what I thought was best."

"Jake, you're problem is you act first and then think later. You really need to work on switching those around," Heather replied.

"You're right," Jake admitted. "I made a real mess of things tonight didn't I?"

"Well, we got out of it alive. I guess that's all that matters," Heather replied trying to make Jake feel better.

"I suppose, but it was too close a call."

"I know. I guess its time to take care of Constantino once and for all," Heather declared.

"Probably. Before we get you home, I'm going to stop at town hall and talk to Eric about setting up a meeting for tomorrow to work on a plan."

"Sounds like a good idea, but we need to make sure we do this smart. I don't think we can survive another all out war with New Bern," Heather warned.

"I agree," Jake replied. Jake watched Heather who was giving him one of her sad forlorn looks that made his heart break. "Are we okay?" Jake asked in concern.

Heather nodded. "I know I don't always act like I care, but I do," Heather said as she stood up and crossed the room, placing a hand on his arm.

Jake put his hand over hers, "I know I haven't exactly said nor done the right things over the past few days. Thinking back, I should probably have let you tell people about the baby on your own timetable. It's just that I have this overwhelming fear that I'm going to lose you. You do way too much and put yourself in danger."

"I'm trying to be more careful," Heather assured him.

"You accuse me of being dangerous, but you've become just as bad," Jake charged. Tonight reminded him of how helpless he'd felt last winter when she'd gone to New Bern. "You don't know how it felt to be told you were dead when I got to New Bern. I had already felt guilty for letting you go in the first place and then not going to get you when you didn't return right away."

"Jake, I made my own choices. None of it was your fault."

"It was my fault. No one was looking out for you. If anything else, as your friend, I should have done something. I shouldn't have left New Bern without finding you," Jake said referring to when he'd gone to find his brother and they had ended up in a shoot-out with Constantino's men.

"You did what you had to Jake. You wouldn't have found me anyway. By the time you guys made it to New Bern, I had already made my escape. Russell arranged for me to get out of town and do my best to see about finding help. See, there were people looking out for me," She explained purposely glossing over the more unseemly details like the torture she went through and having to fake her own death.

"What about those men tonight? What if I hadn't been there or Natalie? You think Russell could save you this time?" Jake asked incredulously.

"No, but then again, I probably would've gotten myself out of the situation anyway. I didn't do anything because I figured you would."

"And I didn't do anything because I thought you would. I mean you're the brains in this operation."

"Well, at least Natalie did something, even if I'm not sure it was actually for our benefit," Heather joked.

"So how is Natalie faring? Did she finally give in on staying at the Med Center?" Jake asked.

"No, she went back to the high school with a couple of those Texas Guardsmen. They said something about finding her things and getting her a stiff drink. Stanley went with them. I didn't realize they were friends."

"It's a small town and Stanley is friends with everybody," Jake explained.

One of the interesting things that Heather had noticed over the past year was how most people rarely spoke in public about the missing and the dead. She wasn't sure how much of it was out of sight, out of mind and how much of it was just dealing with the reality of the situation on the ground there in Jericho.

It was strange that Natalie hadn't ever come up in conversation. She had never been friends with Natalie, but she hadn't really been friends with Stanley or Bill either prior to all of this. Maybe they talked about their missing loved ones when she wasn't around, but she suspected that it was more a taboo subject than anything else. Heather knew she had been the victim of it too in the time she'd been gone in New Bern and then to Cheyenne. From what she knew, most people hadn't talked about her either.

"What about Jimmy?" Jake asked knowing that he'd probably be falling over himself to find Natalie.

"Major Beck said he is headed over there," Heather replied.

"That's good," Jake replied. With the mention of Major Beck, Natalie's connection to Texas came to mind. "Speaking of Natalie, I want you to be careful around her."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't trust her," Jake responded looking in Heather's eyes trying to convey his seriousness.

"You grew up with her Jake. She's smart, but I don't think she's dangerous or anything."

"I'm just not sure about anyone attached to the Texas government and she's been gone a year. Why didn't she show up on some list of survivors when Jimmy started looking?"

"You think she's hiding something?" Heather asked incredulously.

"I don't know, but I intend on finding out what I can about her," Jake replied.

"I think you're wrong to be worried about Natalie. When I talked to her, she really acted like she just wanted to be home," Heather defended still not wanting to believe that Natalie could be anything other than what she put herself out as.

"That maybe so, but I still have questions," Jake retorted. "Anyway, Hawkins still has contacts within the Texas government. I'll see if he can find out anything."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Natalie, wrapped in a blanket, walked next to Jimmy as they headed up the stairs to Town Hall. It had become a wild good chase trying to find her bag and laptop. It seems that Peter, the IT guy, trying to be nice, ended up bringing them back to the Town Hall. So after walking over to the High School, she was now forced to come back to Town Hall which at the moment was close to the last place she wanted to be because Bill was there. Just as they got to the doors, she hesitated.

"What's the matter?" Jimmy asked.

"Nothing," Natalie replied not wanting to explain the sudden dread that had come over her as the insecurities that she'd buried deep inside crept to the surface. For the past year, she'd been really good at playing the part of the cool, confident woman, but now that Natalie was home, she felt weak and alone. She knew it was because of Heather's revelations and her own self-doubts.

At first, Natalie had tried to take everything in stride, but after being taken off the street of her hometown, all her emotional reserves were spent. She wasn't sure she could handle meeting Bill anymore. "Jimmy, I can't go in there," she suddenly said.

"What are you taking about?"

"I don't want to see him right now," Natalie replied fearing what he'd say and what she'd say. She couldn't even bring herself to say his name.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I know I am going to say something I'll regret," Natalie replied looking up at her brother.

"I don't get it."

"It's hard to explain. Can you just go get my stuff?" Natalie pleaded.

"Yeah, but I'd rather not leave you out here alone. Just come in and wait by the door okay?" He asked putting his arm around her shoulders in comfort.

Natalie nodded and followed Jimmy into the portico of the Town Hall. She stood by the door as Jimmy walked to the Sheriff's department.

"Where the hell are they?" Bill could be heard asking. "They should have been here by now."

"They'll be here," Eric replied. They had gotten a radio call that Jimmy and Natalie were coming back to town hall.

"My God, she's here!" Bill declared as he saw the door open, but was confused when he only saw Jimmy. "Where's Natalie?"

Rather than answer right away, Jimmy, uncharacteristically, said nothing and started looking around for Natalie's bag and laptop. As he had told Bill many years ago, the two of them may be best friends, but his loyalty was always going to be with his sister no matter what. So, he kept his mouth shut. Finally seeing Natalie's things, he picked them up and silently started for the door.

"Is she okay?" Bill asked in confusion.

Eric tried to focus on something other than the two other men in the room as he fumbled through paperwork.

"Yeah, Bill. She's fine," Jimmy replied.

"Then where is she?" Bill asked incredulously

"She's waiting outside. Look, she just got home and had a really rough evening," Jimmy tried to explain to his friend. He didn't completely understand why Natalie didn't want to see Bill, but then again he didn't blame her. Bill had pushed his luck one too many times with her.

"She doesn't want to see me," Bill surmised.

"Yeah, she knows about you and Heather," Jimmy said regretting it the moment it left his lips.

"Who told her?!" Bill asked in frustration.

"Don't look at me, man," Jimmy defended. "I didn't tell her. Heather did."

"Why the hell did Heather do that?"

"I don't know. You'll have to ask Heather," Jimmy said resting the heavy military duffle bag on a chair near the door.

"Great. That's just great. She'll probably never talk to me again."

"Do you blame her? I mean she gave up so many chances for you. She had her pick of jobs; instead she takes a one in Kansas. She turned down her dream of working in Miami. I mean I love you like a brother, but if I got to go live in Florida, I'd leave your ass."

On hearing Jimmy's comment Eric couldn't help but chime in, "She gave up Florida?!? You could have lived in Miami?"

"Hey, I'd like it noted that Miami was hit by one of the bombs. We'd be glowing in the dark right now or dead."

"But you didn't know that at the time," Jimmy pointed out.

Bill just shook his head deciding he didn't feel like arguing about it right now and asked, "You think there is any chance she's going to ever speak to me again?"

"You know better than that. She'll get over it. Though to be honest, I'm not sure she should."

Bill only nodded as he slumped against the counter accepting that Jimmy was right. He really had taken her for granted all those years. If he could have had them back, he would have done things a lot differently. For one thing, he would have married her. He also would have gone with her to Corpus Christi when she asked him to. At least she wouldn't have been all alone for the past year and hopefully she would have still been speaking to him.

"I've got to get going. I'll see you both tomorrow," Jimmy said as he walked back out the door leaving Eric and Bill in the room alone.

"Bill, why don't you go home," Eric suggested feeling sorry for Bill. That poor guy didn't have any luck recently. "I can handle it here until the deputy in charge comes in."

"Thanks. I will" Bill replied quietly, though he had no intention of going straight home.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jake was sitting in Heather's lazy boy recliner with his feet up having taken a shower and put on some clean clothes that his mom had dropped off. Heather was in the kitchen making a snack.

"You really should consider moving your workshop," Jake said seeing that her kitchen table was still covered in parts.

"What's the point? No one comes over. It's not like I ever eat dinner at home anyway."

"True, but I can't imagine that having your kitchen table a reminder of the mess going on outside is particularly good for your mental health."

"Probably right," Heather conceded. "I guess I could move it to the basement. I've got a table down there."

"You know I've never been in your basement?" Jake remarked realizing he'd never really had a full tour, not that the house was that big.

"Not much down there other than a bunch of family mementos and my father's extensive gun collection."

"Extensive Gun Collection?!" Jake asked curious as to what she meant.

"It's pretty cool if you're into that sort of thing. Name a legal firearm and I've probably got it," Heather replied. "You know you should look sometime and see if there's anything you could use for the Rangers. I hadn't thought about it before."

"Thanks, I'll do that," Jake replied. He appreciated that Heather would be willing to part with probably the last few things she had left from her family. Over the past few days, Jake started to understand how truly alone Heather had been. She was willing to sacrifice anything including her own life for this town, but as Jake had figured out, this town had become her family. Before Jake could think about it any more, there was a knock on the door.

"Who could that be?" Heather asked. She wasn't planning on having anyone come by.

"Get into the back bedroom," Jake ordered as he picked up his gun from the coffee table and limped to the door.

Heather did as he asked and went to the back bedroom deciding that she'd rather not get into another fight with Jake tonight. She really doubted that Constantino's goons would have the courtesy to knock.

Jake looked in the window trying to figure out who it was. If it was another group from New Bern, he was going to go straight over there, limp and all, and kill Constantino himself tonight. He let out a breath that he was holding once he realized that it was only Bill Koehler. Jake opened the door, "Bill, what's the matter? Guys from New Bern back?"

"No," Bill replied. "I take it you two are okay."

"Other than my leg, we're fine. What brings you here?" Jake asked trying to hide the fact he was starting to wonder if Heather and Bill's relationship was truly over.

"I need to talk to Heather," Bill replied, exasperation evident in his voice.

Jake nodded and let Bill come in. "Heather!" Jake called out. "You can come back out. It's only Bill."

Heather entered the family room, "Bill, what's up? I thought you would be with Natalie or something."

"That's what I wanted to talk to Heather about," Bill replied. He turned to Heather. "It seems that you told her that you and I had some sort of relationship and now she doesn't want to see me."

"I'm sorry Bill," Heather replied looking sheepishly down avoiding eye contact.

"What in the world were you thinking? I mean people accuse me of saying the wrong things at the wrong time, but heck, you seem to have one-upped me."

Jake shook his head, "Wait, you told Natalie about you two?" Jake asked Heather.

"I only told her because she said that she wanted to talk to me about something and I just assumed it was about Bill and me. I'm so sorry."

"Well, great! She's been here for a few hours and you already told her. I mean don't you think it's something that I should have discussed with her?" Bill asked.

"Bill, it's not like she wasn't going to find out," Jake pointed out. There were probably people lining up around the block ready to give Natalie the news. One thing Jericho was always good for was spreading gossip.

"I know, but I would've liked to have at least seen her first."

"She seemed really understanding of everything," Heather assured him.

"That's because she's not somebody who's going to confront you over it," Bill explained.

"I don't know what to tell you."

"How do I fix this? What do I say to her? You're a woman. What would you want to hear?" Bill asked in frustration.

"Well, that depends on what you want. I'd be honest with her," Heather said.

"Don't listen to her," Jake interjected pointing to Heather. "You obviously are still in love with her or you wouldn't be here bugging us."

Bill nodded conceding the point.

"Well, I'd just go over there tonight and see her. Be direct and then try to talk about something from your past, preferably romantic," Jake suggested. "Just try to sound understanding."

"And why should I be taking relationship advice from you?" Bill asked.

"You don't have to. It's just a suggestion," Jake said with a shrug.

"He's right, Bill," Heather agreed. "I know when Mike pissed me off he'd get me talking about some place we'd gone that was a lot of fun or romantic. It would get my mind off of why I was angry. I'll be the first to admit that women are suckers for a sensitive man, not too sensitive. We don't want a guy who cries more than we do."

"So, what you both are saying is be direct, be sensitive, bring up the past and I might have a chance?"

"Well, you've been with her forever haven't you?" Jake asked already knowing the answer.

"How long have you and Natalie been dating?" Heather asked in curiosity.

Bill was silent for a moment as he tried to think how long he'd been with Natalie. "Off and on since high school."

"You've been together that long?!" Heather asked astounded that anyone would stay with Bill that long without being married. Heather liked Bill, but she knew she'd never be able to live with the man.

"Well, there were several years where I was in the Army and she was away at school that I don't think count," Bill defended.

"I'm sure it will all work out," Jake remarked hoping to get rid of Bill.

"I had better get going," Bill said as he headed for the door.

"Good Luck!" Heather called out to him.

"Thanks, but I'm going to need a lot more than luck; I need a miracle," Bill replied as he left.

Heather walked up and started closing all the locks. "So you think he's got a chance with her?"

"Probably. I mean they've been dating since high school."

"Well, I hope it works out. Somebody deserves a happy ending," Heather said locking the door.

"I think we all want and deserve one of those," Jake said in response.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bill took a deep breath and knocked on Jimmy's door. He wasn't sure exactly what he was doing, but he knew that he had to see her and explain best he could what had happened. No one came to the door and he was about to try knocking again when he heard laughter in the back of the house. He went around to the back gate and found it unlocked. Bill let himself in. He could see the light from Jimmy's back porch illuminating part of the backyard, but not anyone. Most of the porch was obscured by a wall. He felt for his gun and hoped to God he wouldn't have to use it.

"Hello!" he called out. "Who's out here?"

"Bill, what are you doing here?" Jimmy called back to him.

Bill made his way to the porch and found Natalie and Jimmy sitting on lawn chairs drinking shots of what looked like tequila based on the bottle between them. Natalie was dressed in a warn-out black Metallica t-shirt which Bill recognized as one of his and a pair of sweatpants. Natalie had taken the shirt with her to sleep in on her trip and Bill was surprised she still had it and that she was even wearing it tonight. He took it as a good sign.

"Hey," was all that Bill managed to say.

"What do you need?" Jimmy asked.

"I came to make sure that you were all right," he replied looking down at Natalie.

"Oh," Natalie replied looking confused at her brother. "I thought Jimmy told you that I didn't want to see you tonight."

"He did, but I had to see for myself that you were okay."

Natalie held up her hands and wiggled her fingers and wiggled her exposed toes, "See, I've got all my fingers and toes. I'm okay."

"That's not what I meant," Bill complained.

Jimmy looked like he wanted to be anywhere, but there at the moment. "I think I'm going to go inside and get to bed," He said standing up. "Are you going to be alright out here?"

"Yeah, Jimmy. I'll be fine. Good night," Natalie said.

"Good night," Jimmy said to both of them and then gave Bill a look telling him to be nice to his sister or else. Jimmy went inside and closed the door.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Bill asked leaning against one of the posts holding up the roof covering the porch. "Not just about tonight, but about everything."

"I swear I'm okay. I'm just tired," Natalie tried to explain. She wrapped her arms around herself and crossed her legs trying to act nonchalant. She looked at his left arm which was in a sling. "How's your shoulder? Jimmy told me you were shot about a week ago."

"It hurts, but it's getting better."

"That's good," Natalie said. She couldn't believe he had the nerve to come there tonight. Part of her wanted to hear what he had to say, but part of her just wanted him to leave. "So, you can see I am in one piece. I'm sure you probably need to get back to your mother's. Jimmy said you moved back in with her."

"Yeah, but I don't need to go home right away. Mom's staying with my brother for awhile," Bill explained. "I know you didn't want to see me, but do you think we could still talk?"

Natalie didn't answer right away, but instead poured two shot glasses of tequila. "Sit down," Natalie requested and handed him one of the shot glasses.

Bill took the glass and sat down next to Natalie. "So, you're staying here?"

"Yeah, for now," Natalie replied annoyance evident in her voice. "Of course, it would be nice if I could sleep in my own bed in my own house, but of course it's not hooked up to electricity and it was ransacked by the 10th Mountain Division looking for you."

"Jimmy told you about that?"

"Well, it was going to come up eventually. Anyway, it was just stuff. I mean Jimmy, Margaret; the kids are all still alive. That's really enough for me."

"I'm sorry I interrupted you and Jimmy," Bill asked as Natalie shot down the tequila in her glass. He tried not to be offended that he wasn't included on that list. She went for the bottle, but Bill tried to grab it.

"No, I've got it," Natalie assured him as she beat him to it and poured herself another shot.

"Is everyone else asleep?" Bill asked as soon as he realized that there wasn't anyone around, but her and Jimmy.

"Yeah."

Bill decided to do as Jake suggested and just be upfront, "So why didn't you want to see me?" He quickly downed the shot he was still holding and made a sour face. He hated tequila.

"I didn't know what to say," Natalie replied honestly.

"I don't get it."

"I know about Heather."

"I know that you know."

"Well, that's good. I'm glad we all know," Natalie sarcastically replied. The tequila was doing its job of relaxing her.

"If we all know, then what's the problem?" Bill asked setting down the shot glass.

"I spent the past year dreaming about being home. I dedicated my entire existence to making it happen, but you know what, I get here and it's all so anti-climatic. I mean I expected to have some sort of feeling of euphoria, but instead I just feel like that seventeen year old girl that nobody wanted."

"You're wrong about that, I wanted you. Hey, I took you to our junior prom," Bill reminded her taking Jake's advice once again.

"Our mothers arranged for us to go together. You didn't even want to take me," Natalie corrected him. She wasn't quite sure where he was going with this. She downed the shot she had poured herself.

"Actually, I did, but I was too freaking scared to ask."

"What are you talking about? You told me that you only agreed to take me because you didn't want to be the only guy in your group of friends without a date."

"I'm going to let you in on a secret. I wasn't very good at talking to girls."

"I'm going to let you in on one, too. You still aren't," Natalie said with a half-smile.

Bill ignored her comment and continued, "Stew found out I liked you and told Mom about it. She asked me if I was going to ask you and I told her why bother. I mean you never went to dances or anything for that matter. Plus, you were a straight A student and I barely graduated."

"That's because you spent too much time trying to keep up with Jake."

"You're probably right. To get back to the story, my mother, in her normal interfering way, took it upon herself to arrange the whole thing."

"Why didn't you tell me before?"

"You already accused me of being a mama's boy. You think I was going to willingly give you more ammunition?"

"It's universally accepted that you are a mama's boy," Natalie corrected fully smiling for the first time since Bill had arrived. She looked down at her empty shot glass and began rolling it with her fingers. She contemplated pouring herself another. "Though, before I left, I think I had you almost broken. I bet all that work is down the tubes."

"Very funny," Bill replied in mock anger.

"To get back to our first date, I only went because my mother guilted me into it. I really was expecting to be humiliated that night, but I went anyway to make my mother happy."

"You didn't want to go with me?"

"Well, I wanted to go with Stanley, but he asked Kerri Wilson."

"You wanted to go with Stanley?" Bill asked in shock.

"Well, he was on the football team and really dreamy," Natalie explained as she remembered a handsome teenage Stanley Richmond. "Instead, I went with you and had a good time any way. You were very nice and made me laugh."

"I fell in love with you that night. I mean you let me kiss you. For a seventeen year old kid who didn't know how to talk to girls, I was hooked."

"Yeah, so hooked that you find the nearest available woman and make a move for her once it looks like I'm gone for good."

"It wasn't like that."

"What was it like?" Natalie demanded setting down the glass in her hands.

"I don't know," Bill replied. "By the beginning of July, I'd pretty much given up hope of ever seeing you again. We talked to J&R to see if you showed up on any refugee lists, but they couldn't find any trace of you."

"They wouldn't have," Natalie replied.

"Why?"

"Because I made sure that I never got on any list, especially one that would get to the ASA. One day I'll tell you about the past year, but right now is not the time," Natalie explained. She knew that eventually she was going to have to give all the particulars on the past year. She just didn't want to do it tonight. "Anyway, that's beside the point. It still doesn't explain why you so quickly went about replacing me."

"I didn't replace you," Bill corrected Natalie. "I really just started spending time with Heather because she seemed all alone. She's really nice. I think you two could be friends."

"I don't think so. Sorry, I'm a pretty understanding person, but making friends with my ex-boyfriend's baby mama is just not something that I think I can do."

"What are you talking about?" Bill asked. "I'm not the father of Heather's baby. Hell, I never even slept with the woman!"

"What?!" Natalie exclaimed. She felt like such a fool.

"Jake's the father of Heather's baby," Bill explained.

"How? He's been in Texas for the past four months and she doesn't look like she's that far along."

"I guess before he left. I really didn't get all the details," Bill replied slouching back against the lawn chair. "The only reason I started to see her semi-romantically was because I was trying to get over you, but I did a really lousy job of it. I went into the whole thing knowing it was never going to last. It was never the same as with you. There were never secrets between you and me. I could tell you anything and I always knew you weren't hiding things from me," Bill tried to explain trying to ignore the fact that obviously Natalie was hiding things from him now.

Natalie started laughing.

"What?" Bill inquired trying to figure out what she found so funny. He started to wonder if she was drunk.

"You are so full of shit," Natalie remarked. "I know you better than that. Who wrote that load of crap for you?"

"What do you mean?" Bill innocently asked.

"This whole conversation has got to be the sappiest we've ever had. You have never been this sentimental in your entire life. You are the most unromantic guy I know."

"I can be romantic," Bill defended.

"When you want to get laid," Natalie added sarcasm dripping through her voice. "So, who helped you?"

"Why do you think someone helped me?"

"Like I said, you don't say things like that. I mean it was nice, sweet actually, but that wasn't you."

"So, what would I have said?" Bill asked.

"You were good until we started reminiscing about prom."

"Maybe the past year has changed me," Bill suggested trying to pretend that she wasn't right.

"Jimmy's been giving me the rundown on your various misadventures the past year. Based on that, I'd say you're still the same as you ever were."

"So, what should I have said?" Bill said accepting that Natalie had called him on it. She knew him too well.

"I would expect you to say that you were stupid and gone on to say 'I'm sorry I was an idiot again. Please forgive me.' Then you would have tried to kiss me."

Bill got up off his chair and kneeled down in front of Natalie. "I'm sorry I was an idiot again. Please forgive me."

Natalie didn't say anything, but tears started falling from her eyes. Bill brushed the tears from her face with his free hand.

"I love you," Bill said breaking the silence.

"I love you, too."

With that, Bill kissed her tenderly. After a minute, he smiled. "So am I going to get laid?" Bill joked as he continued to kiss her. Natalie girlishly giggled as she put her arms around him giving him his answer as she realized some things never changed.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The house was quiet, as Heather curled up on her couch alone. Jake had long since gone to sleep in her bed and she had tried to lay down with him, but she couldn't get any rest. Too much had happened this evening and it was all spinning through her head.

The past week had been full of surprises for Heather. First, Jake and Hawkins made their return from Texas. She still didn't have the full details on exactly why they'd been let go, but then again, she was pretty sure that they didn't know either. Second, Bill gets shot in the shoulder and scares the crap out of her. Third, Jake reveals that he still has feelings for her and finds out she's pregnant. Finally, Natalie Taylor returns and brings news that Mike Anderson was coming back. That last piece of information was weighing most heavily on Heather's mind.

Heather held the letter that Natalie had given her earlier and contemplated whether she was really interested in hearing what Mike had to say after all this time. Natalie had told her that he'd changed, but exactly what kind of change was the problem. Finally giving in to her curiosity, Heather opened the letter and began to read it.

_Dear Heather,_

_I hope this letter finds you well and happy (or at least as happy as one can be when the world has gone to hell). I know that my return to Jericho has the potential to cause upheaval in your life and I really hope that by explaining myself, I'll mitigate any painful feelings you may have toward me. First, I want to offer an apology for the way I left things with you. I never meant to hurt you, but when does anyone mean to. My biggest regret in all of it was leading you on for as long as I did, but I really thought that I could do it. I thought I could be the man you needed me to be, but at some point, you have to stop living the lie and start being real. _

_I hope that my return to Jericho will not cause you any pain. After the past year, I hope that a failed relationship can be seen in its proper light when there is so much dying and suffering going on. I want you to know that my coming back is not because I harbor any expectations with you. My sincerest hope is that you have found someone to take care of you in the way you deserve. _

_I know that this letter does not begin to answer the questions you may have. I promise that if you want to ask them, I am open. _

_Forever in your debt,_

_Mike Anderson _

After she finished reading the letter, Heather got up from the couch, crumpled the paper in her fist, and threw it into the garbage can. Natalie may have thought that Mike had changed, but that letter was filled with the same meaningless platitudes that Mike had filled her with before he left. As Heather shut the light off and joined Jake in her bed, she realized that the more things changed, the more they stayed the same.


	10. A Frolic and Detour

It's Not Over: A Frolic and a Detour

--

Rating: PG-13 (Adult Language and Situations).  
Disclaimer: The name "Jericho" and all character names and trademarks associated with the television program are the intellectual property of Junction Entertainment, Fixed Mark Productions, CBS Paramount Television and/or CBS Studios, Inc. The following story is intended solely as an intellectual exercise without profit motive. No infringement of copyright is intended or should be implied.

Notes: Feedback is always appreciated! I call this story a frolic and a detour because that's exactly what it is. Read at your own risk!! I'm only kidding. It's just a bit of back story for one of our intrepid couples.

--

Margaret Taylor stood at the counter in the kitchen mixing up the flour and spices to make fried chicken for Sunday dinner. She closed her eyes for a minute and enjoyed the quiet that had overtaken the house knowing that it wouldn't last for long. Peaceful moments in the small house with two active children were almost impossible to come by. Jimmy had made her day by suggesting that he work on teaching Woody how to throw a football and getting Sally to cheer him on.

The silence was broken by the squeaking of the front door opening. She was going to have to remind Jimmy to fix it later. Things like squeaking doors never seemed to bother him much. Jimmy was rarely troubled by anything. Margaret rubbed her hands on the apron she was wearing and went to greet their guests.

"Hello?" a voice called from the hallway. Margaret recognized it as Bill Kohler's.

"A little help would be nice," her sister in-law Natalie complained.

"Oh, sorry," Bill apologized and he opened the screen door to let Natalie through.

Margaret watched the pair as they came down the short hallway to the kitchen and family room area. Natalie's arms were full as she was carrying a large Tupperware container, a bag of chips, and another smaller Tupperware container. Bill, of course, was not carrying anything. Margaret shook her head.

"Hey, you two," Margaret greeted the pair.

"Hey, Margaret," Natalie said as she quickly walked past and placed the items she was carrying on an open space on the counter.

"What did you bring?" Margaret asked looking at the pile of items that Natalie had deposited.

"Jimmy asked me to make him seven-layer Mexican dip and bring the sugar cookies that Sally and I made yesterday," Natalie explained. Natalie had watched Sally and Woody the day before while Margaret went to New Bern to go shopping at Costco and run some other errands.

"Sounds good," Margaret replied.

Bill went to the counter where Natalie had left the two plastic Tupperware containers and opened up the one that had the sugar cookies. He took a cookie and bit into it. With his mouth full, he muffled, "Taste's good too."

"Would you get out of here?" Natalie begged.

"Jimmy and the kids are in the backyard," Margaret explained.

Bill grabbed another cookie and headed for the backyard leaving the two women alone in the kitchen.

"You know that they are all going to come in and want a cookie," Margaret complained.

"Well, maybe, he'll eat it really fast and no one will notice."

Luckily, no one came into the house and the two women were left to talk. "So, what can I do to help?" Natalie asked pushing up the sleeves of her fluffy sweater.

"I've got everything pretty much finished. Why don't you peel some potatoes?" Margaret suggested.

Natalie found the potatoes, grabbed the peeler from its drawer, and started peeling. Natalie peeled with unusual zeal that afternoon and Margaret took notice.

"Natalie, just take the skin off. Don't peel the potato down to nothing."

"Oh, crap! Sorry, my mind is just off somewhere else."

"No problem. Something you want to talk about?"

"Not really," Natalie replied. She didn't want to discuss the fact that she'd still not confronted Bill over his seeming lack of ability to make a bona fide commitment. She wanted to get married and have kids, but every time that she'd hint at it Bill would shut her down. What had made it worse was that she'd been offered a great job in Miami and Bill was refusing to move. She'd given in and agreed to stay in Jericho, but she hadn't been happy about it because to be honest she wasn't sure what her reasons for staying were. If Bill wasn't going to marry her, why should she stay?

"You still haven't talked to Bill have you?" Margaret asked knowing exactly what was upsetting Natalie. She had tried to tell her sister-in-law before that she needed to just be upfront with him. Everyone knew Bill was sickeningly in love with Natalie. He just needed a kick in the pants to get moving.

"No."

"You need to talk to him and tell him how you feel."

"What if he says no? I mean what am I supposed to do then?" Natalie replied. Fear of rejection was probably the biggest reason that Natalie hadn't confronted Bill. She loved him and didn't want to lose him by pushing him too far. The rational side of her brain knew that four years was long enough to wait for a marriage proposal. That didn't even count all the years before she'd finally made Jericho her home permanently again. Unfortunately, the irrational, lack of self-esteem side of her had been winning the day.

"Then he says no. At least you know where he stands. Look Natalie, how many times have you told me that you really want to get married and have children? If Bill isn't going to do that for you, then maybe it's time to move on. Don't get me wrong. I love Bill, but I think you need to start figuring out what you really want and what he really wants."

"You're right. I can't just keep hoping that he's going to get a clue. I guess I'm just afraid that if Bill doesn't want those things with me then no one else will," Natalie admitted. Her insecurities were always a source of weakness for her.

"Natalie, have you taken a look at yourself recently?" Margaret asked shaking her head. Natalie was notorious for putting herself down. "You are beautiful, smart, and talented; you make good money. I know of at least a dozen men in Jericho who are on the watch for when you finally dump him."

"I doubt that."

"I'm serious. Jimmy get's questions all the time asking about the state of your relationship."

Natalie rolled her eyes as she continued to peel potatoes.

"What you need to do is give an ultimatum. Tell him that he forks over a ring and walks you down the isle or you're leaving."

"I hate giving ultimatums."

"You're problem is that you are passive aggressive, just like you're brother. One thing that irks me about Jimmy is that he never just get's mad over something. He just lets things fester."

"Blame it on our parents," Natalie replied. Her parents had always been of the view point, if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. She could only remember a handful of fights that her parents had ever had. "You're right though. I've been giving it some thought and I'm thinking about taking the job in Miami."

"I thought you turned down the job in Miami."

"I did, but I didn't. My boss really wants me down there. There's talk that eventually I'd take over in a couple of years as head of the hurricane center."

"What about Bill? I thought he insisted that he didn't want to move."

"He doesn't. If I took the job, I'd go alone. I think what I'm going to tell him is that if he doesn't want to get married that I'm going to leave."

"Just 'cause you break it off with Bill doesn't mean that you have to leave Jericho."

"Yes it does. First, I love him too much to see him all the time. It would kill me to see him with someone else. What if he went on to marry someone else? I think it might be too much. Second, where am I going to find a potential husband here? I know you said that there are a dozen men waiting in the wings or something, but most of the eligible men between the ages of twenty-eight and forty are all friends of Bill's. I doubt they'd do that to him."

"We'd miss you. The kids would miss you, especially."

"I know. I really hope it doesn't come to that."

"So when do you have to give your boss an answer?"

"Friday."

"Cutting it a bit short aren't we?"

"What are we cutting short?" Jimmy asked as he bounded in from the backyard with the Woody following close behind. Bill was carrying a giggling Sally under an arm. He set her down as they entered the door.

"My stay. I have to leave right after dinner to go pack," Natalie answered trying to cover up what they'd been talking about. Margaret gave her a knowing look as she took the bowl of peeled potatoes and got them ready to boil.

"Oh, that's right you're leaving tomorrow," Jimmy remembered. "When do you get back?"

"Thursday night."

"Are you driving her to the airport?" Jimmy asked Bill.

"No. I'm not driving all the way to Wichita and back. That's like six hours. That'll kill my entire day off."

"I'm not flying out of Wichita," Natalie corrected. "I'm flying out of Denver."

"I didn't know that," Bill replied.

"Maybe if you looked at the itinerary I have on the refrigerator you'd know that," Natalie complained. "Anyway, doesn't matter. I don't want him driving me to the airport. That'd mean I have to listen to his crappy music."

"Ha, Ha." Bill replied as he turned on the television to a football game. Jimmy grabbed a couple of beers from the refrigerator and handed one to Bill as they both slumped onto the couch and started watching the game. Natalie went with Sally to her room to play Barbies as Margaret worked on finishing dinner.

Later that evening, as Natalie was getting ready for bed, Bill came into the bathroom. Natalie was brushing her teeth at the sink.

"You're awfully quiet tonight," Bill remarked as he grabbed his own toothbrush and the toothpaste and got ready to brush his teeth.

Natalie spit out the toothpaste into the sink and took a sip of water. She finally spoke, "I've just got a lot on my mind."

"Like what?" Bill asked as began to quickly brush his teeth.

"I've just been doing a lot of thinking," Natalie replied.

Bill took the toothbrush out of his mouth. "Oh, this isn't going to be good. I'm not sure I even want to ask."

Natalie took a deep breath and thought about what Margaret had told her. "My boss really wants me to go to Miami. It would mean more money, more responsibility, and getting to be with the people who are doing the same kind of research I'm doing."

"I thought we'd already decided that Miami was out."

"You don't want to move to Miami and you wouldn't have to. I'd just go."

"I don't understand."

"Don't worry about it. It's just an idea I'm throwing around," Natalie replied losing the nerve to confront him over it.

"Wait a minute. Why are you even thinking about it?" Bill asked trying to make sense of what she was saying.

Natalie was quiet for a moment as she thought about what she wanted to say. "I'm just thinking about my future."

"Your future's here with me," Bill replied. "At least that's what I thought."

"I'd like it to be, but…" Natalie couldn't finish the sentence.

"But what?"

"I guess I'm just questioning where we're headed."

"What do you mean where we're headed? I think we have a good thing going."

"We do, but I want someone who really wants me, permanently; like until death do us part kind of permanence."

Bill took a deep breath trying to choose his words. He knew what she was getting at.Natalie was frustrated by his silence, "If you don't understand that, then we really don't have anything to talk about," Natalie said as she walked out of the bathroom and climbed into her side of the bed.

Bill followed her and climbed into bed with her. "I get it. You want to get married. Fine. We'll get married and have a dozen kids if you want them," he replied with frustration in his voice.

"No."

"What do you mean no? You just told me that in order for you to stay, I'd have to marry you. You got what you wanted."

"This isn't what I wanted. I want you to want me enough that you want to spend the rest of your life with me. Not, 'she's threatening to leave so I'll give her what she wants so she'll stay.'"

"What did you expect when you give someone an ultimatum?"

"I hate this. Just forget it Bill. I'm going to sleep. I've got to get up early in the morning and drive to the airport," Natalie replied as she turned off the light on her side of the bed and turned away from him in the bed. Tears were coming to her eyes as she realized that this was going to be it for them. She had to face facts that he didn't care about her as much as she thought.

"Nat, baby," Bill urged as he put his hand on her shoulder. "I didn't mean it like that. I really don't. Talk to me please."

Natalie sniffled into her pillow, "I don't have anything else to say."

"Listen. I want to marry you. I mean it. I was planning on asking you when you came back. I even bought the ring. I've got to go pick it up tomorrow or I'd give it to you right now. You see I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

Natalie turned in bed to face Bill, "You mean it. You're not making this up. You were going to ask me?"

"I swear. I love you. What would I do without you?"

"You'd be living with your mother, working at Murtha's," Natalie quickly spurted out.

"Probably right," Bill agreed. Natalie had pretty much had taken him by the hand since they graduated from high school. She's the one who told him he needed to enlist in the army because his grades sucked so he'd get money for college. She's the one who told him to go get his AA at the community college over in Goodland. It was her and Jimmy who had gotten him a job as a deputy. As sad as it sounded, Natalie pretty much took care of him. He'd be lost with out her. "Why didn't you just tell me you wanted to get married before?"

"I've been hinting at it for months now. You shut me down."

"You know I'm not good with hints."

"Yeah, I figured it out," Natalie agreed. "So what made you decide to finally ask?"

"Roger Hammond told me I needed to marry you."

"You're listening to Roger these days?"

"Well, he told me that it would be a good investment."

"It would make financial sense on your part. I do make like three time's your salary plus consulting fees."

"True. So does that mean I can quit the force and become a house-husband?"

"You don't like to clean," Natalie reminded him.

"I do like to watch TV and eat bon bons."

"No," Natalie said with a giggle. "Now, once we have kids, then maybe."

"So, how quickly can we have a baby?" Bill asked with a mischievous smile. "I wouldn't mind spending my whole day at home."

"You really want to make bottles and change diapers all day?" Natalie asked incredulously.

"How many diapers can one baby dirty?" Bill jokingly asked.

"I suggest you talk to Margaret before you decide to become Mr. Mom," Natalie replied. Changing subjects, she went on to ask, "So, do you want me to pretend like we didn't have this discussion and you ask me however you had it planned?"

"Fine by me," Bill said scooting closer to Natalie. "So, you want to practice making a baby?"

"You've got a one track mind!" Natalie complained. "You're incorrigible."

"You love me anyway, don't you?" Bill asked as he gave her a kiss.


	11. Chapter 10 Revised

It's Not Over: Chapter 10

Rating: PG-13 (Adult Language and Situations).

Disclaimer: The name "Jericho" and all character names and trademarks associated with the television program are the intellectual property of Junction Entertainment, Fixed Mark Productions, CBS Paramount Television and/or CBS Studios, Inc. The following story is intended solely as an intellectual exercise without profit motive. No infringement of copyright is intended or should be implied.

Notes: After doing some soul searching and communicating with a few people, I have reworked Chapters 7 through 12. Some changes are minor and others are significant. Overall, the plot is the same, just certain characters and their actions have been changed/corrected. Thanks to JT, mainemom22, and jordanmr. As always, feedback is appreciated.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As Jake had expressed to Heather the night before, he was concerned that Natalie was not everything she seemed to be. Part of him thought he was perhaps overreacting, but then there was his gut that was telling him that Natalie had some major secrets; secrets that could possibly put Jericho in danger. With the light of day upon them and Heather safely at the high school with Major Beck, Jake decided to see if Hawkins could shed some light on the whole situation. He quietly walked down the street toward the Hawkins' residence trying to make sure that he looked nonchalant about the whole thing. The last thing he needed was to raise questions in the town about what he was up to.

Knocking on the door, Jake took a deep breath and tried to figure out how to word this so he didn't sound paranoid. Before Jake could think about it anymore, Darcy Hawkins answered the door. "Hi Jake, is there something I can do for you?" she asked.

"I need to talk to your husband. Is he around?"

"Yeah, he's out back working on something."

"Thanks," Jake replied as he nodded to Darcy and walked around the house to the backyard. He wondered what Hawkins might be working on. Hawkins had told him back in Texas that his mission at this point was over. There wasn't anything left for him to do on that front. Jake didn't buy that explanation for an instant. In Texas, Hawkins had met with Chavez on many occasions privately while Jake stayed trapped in a hotel room. He had often asked him what he had been up to, but Hawkins had said that they were just catching up. Jake knew that Hawkins was up to something, but he knew better than to push too far. When Hawkins didn't speak about something, it was usually for a good reason.

Jake made it to the backyard to find Hawkins trimming bushes. Jake chided himself for his overactive imagination. "Hey Hawkins."

"Hey Jake, how may I help you today?" Hawkins asked.

"Why do you think I need your help?" Jake asked with a small smirk.

Hawkins chuckled lightly, "Because the only time you people come find me is when you need something. So, what do you need?"

Jake didn't even bother defending knowing that the man was right. People didn't just come by and socialize with Robert Hawkins. He doubted that you'd ever see the man at a barbeque or a street party just chatting away with friends. When Robert Hawkins talked, it was usually with a purpose. "You still have contacts with the Texas government, right?"

"Yeah, what do you need?" Hawkins asked giving him a concerned look.

"One of the Texas people who came yesterday was a Doctor Natalie Taylor. She's from Jericho, but wasn't here the day of the bombs."

"So, what?"

"I'm afraid that she may not be what she seems."

"You still aren't giving me a reason to be concerned," Hawkins remarked skeptically hoping to get Jake to back off.

"My worry is that Major Beck indicated that she has friends high up in the Texas government."

"Jake. You're really not giving me any reason to contact anyone. All you've told me so far is she's got some friends in high places. That doesn't concern me the least bit. I'd expect at least a few of those communications people to be pretty well connected, especially since we are so close to the front."

"Forget it," Jake said in disgust as he started to walk away. Hawkins wasn't making any sense. He was the one who had planted the distrust of Texas in Jake in the first place.

"Wait," Hawkins replied knowing that if he didn't do something that Jake would harass the doctor and that wasn't something he could allow him to do yet. "I'll make a couple of calls and see what I can find out. Though, I doubt she is anything other than what she's put herself out as. Texas is pretty good about making sure that their people are loyal."

"Thank you," Jake said. "One more thing; would you mind coming by the sheriff's station this morning and helping us put together a strategy on what to do with Constantino?"

"Jake are you sure that going after the man right now is a good idea?"

"I'm not sure that we have much choice. I was hoping you could come up with a plan to do it without getting us into trouble."

"Alright, I'll be over there in a little while. I'm just going to finish trimming these bushes and then make those calls."

"Thanks again," Jake said gratitude evident in his voice as he started to leave.

"See you later," Hawkins called after him as he began cutting again. When he was sure that Jake was gone, he came out to the front yard to verify. He opened his phone up and dialed.

After two rings, the phone picked up, "Hey."

"We've got a problem," Hawkins said into the phone as he sat down on a lawn chair outside.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Heather walked to a classroom where she'd been told she'd find Peter, the guy in charge of putting the equipment together. She wasn't particularly thrilled with helping with the communication center this morning, but she also wasn't someone to shirk responsibility. Even though she was tired and sore after yesterday's debacle, she also was happy to have something to do get her mind off of her troubles.

The room was bustling with guardsmen working on hooking up mainframes and other equipment. Heather found Peter marking equipment that the guardsmen had gathered earlier. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"Know how to strip wires?" Peter asked.

Heather smiled, "Yeah, I can do that in my sleep." She thought back to the first few days after the bombs, when she'd tried to help salvage the ventilation system in the bomb shelter at the medical center. Jake had handed her the pliers and the job of getting it working again. She hoped these men would be better about a woman helping than that old man.

"Great, if you could start getting the wires ready to be hooked up, it would be appreciated," he replied as he continued an evaluation of the equipment they had.

Heather started working on the first piece of equipment to get it ready to be hooked up to whatever Peter had planned. "So, where's Natalie. I would've thought that she'd be in the midst of all of this."

One of the guardsmen in the room perked up, "Oh, Nat doesn't put this stuff together. As she put it, she's not mechanically inclined. Though, I think it's just a cop out."

"So, where is she?"

"She took a personal day. After last night, I don't blame her a bit. And like Ortega said, she's not an equipment person," Peter explained as he kept working.

Heather decided to take this opportunity to see if she could find out anything about Natalie, "So how long have you been working with her?"

"Me? Oh, I've only been with her since we left Texas a month ago. Ortega over there and Perez have been with her forever."

"She's been with the Texas government long?" Heather asked incredulously.

"Nah, I'm not sure how long she's been with them. She's pretty quiet. None of us even knew that she was from Jericho until a few days ago. Heck, we were placing bets on whether she was married, single, or had a boyfriend," Peter explained. He took a moment and then continued, "Hey, you wouldn't happen to know the answer to that?"

"Not too sure on that. I mean she had a boyfriend, but she wasn't speaking to him as of last night," Heather replied thinking about Bill's visit the night before.

"Oh, hell, Ortega you won. She's got a boyfriend!" Peter yelled out.

Ortega made a fist pump. "I expect payment from all of you by this evening."

"So, she's not real open about herself then?" Heather asked.

"No. Don't get me wrong. She's a nice lady. She takes good care of the guys and we all love her to death, literally, but she doesn't talk about her personal life much."

"That's understandable," Heather commented. As she was getting ready to strip wires again, she looked up to see Emily standing at the doorway with her arms crossed. Heather took a deep breath. "Hey Emily, is there something I can help you with?"

"Can we talk for a few minutes?" Emily replied.

"You mind if I go?" Heather asked Peter.

"No problem. You've caught up to me anyway. I'll see you in a few," Peter answered.

Heather got up and headed for the doorway as dread filled her over what Emily wanted to talk to her about. She had planned on talking to Emily today because she didn't want a confrontation with her at Eric's wedding tomorrow. Emily was supposed to be Mary's maid of honor. Heather had thought about not going, but she couldn't do that to Eric or Mary who were both her friends. They deserved her support.

"Let's go to the teacher's lounge," Heather made her way down the hall while Emily wordlessly followed. Emily seemed as uncomfortable about this as Heather with her arms folded around her and a worried look on her face.

Making it to the room, Heather took a seat on one of the dusty abandoned couches that had once served as a respite from the students who had roamed these halls. Emily closed her eyes briefly and thought about the time before the bombs when Heather had met Emily here to discuss plans for her wedding with Roger that never was. So many regrets filled her right now. She knew it was time to start making amends.

"Heather, I just thought that we should talk before Mary's wedding tomorrow," Emily started as she fidgeted with her jacket.

"I was planning on finding you today," Heather replied acknowledging that they needed to talk.

Silence hung between them like a veil, as both of them were afraid of what to say next. It was Emily who finally spoke first, "I'm sorry for what happened over the past year."

"If anyone should be apologizing it should be me," Heather replied. She took a deep breath and thought about how to put into words what she was feeling, but it was hard. So much of her life was spent pretending that everything was alright. She knew it had to stop, but how do you explain to someone that the world fell apart and you're just struggling to keep up.

"I think we both did a lot of things this past year worthy of an apology, but I think we can squarely put the blame for this on Jake," Emily suggested.

Heather laughed at that. Emily would manage to somehow blame this all on him if possible. "I don't know if it is all on Jake."

"If the bastard had never come back, we'd all have been better off," Emily said with a bit of anger in her voice.

"Don't say that. Who knows if we'd still even be alive if he hadn't come back? Just because we both fell for the same guy doesn't mean it's all his fault."

"Of course it's his fault. He was playing both of us all along. Don't you see that?"

"Emily, I'm not going to get in a blame game. I really just wanted to say I'm sorry for the way things turned out. I never meant to hurt you. Things were just such a mess. What am I saying? Things still are a mess."

"I just can't believe that you would sleep with Jake knowing that he was with me. I thought you were my friend!" Emily blurted out.

"Like I said, I'm sorry," Heather said soberly. "It's not like I sought him out or something. I tried to distance myself, but I just kept getting pulled back in."

"That's what I meant by him playing both of us."

"It doesn't matter anymore Emily. What's done is done. I'm sorry for the way things turned out."

"I am too."

Once again, silence enveloped the room as neither one of the women was sure what to say to the other one. Emily, even though she was hurt by Heather's actions, missed her friend. Heather had always treated Emily with respect when so many other people looked down on her for who her father was.

"So, what does Jake say about the baby?"

"I'm not sure what you mean," Heather replied.

"I'm just wondering if he's giving you a bunch of false promises about how he's going to be there for you and for your baby. You know that he's probably just going to leave you like he does everyone else."

"Emily, that's unfair," Heather defended him.

"When things get tough, he doesn't stick around. I just want you to be prepared for it," Emily tried to explain. She was genuinely concerned about Heather and what was going to happen to her. The Jake she knew wasn't good at making things work.

"Don't worry about it. I'm prepared to handle this on my own if necessary," Heather assured her. "I'm not living in some fantasy world where everything's going to turn out okay. I may act like everything is okay, but it doesn't mean I think it is."

"Well, if you need anything, let me know," Emily offered.

"Thanks. I should get back to work," Heather declared not really wanting to spend anymore time hashing out the past.

"See you at the wedding tomorrow?" Emily asked hopefully.

"Yeah, I'll be there," Heather replied.

"I promise I'll be nice to Jake for Mary and Eric's sake."

"I'm sure they'll appreciate it," Heather said behind her shoulder as she walked out the door.

"See you later," Emily called after Heather as she left Emily alone with her thoughts in the Teacher's lounge.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hawkins found Natalie's house which luckily wasn't too far from his own and a bit off the beaten path allowing him to go there without being seen. He drove up the empty driveway to find the front door boarded up, the grass extremely high, and the house looking like it hadn't been cared for in quite some time. As instructed, he trudged through the weeds and grass to the back of the house and knocked on the back door.

The door creaked open. "Rob," Natalie replied as she opened the door. She was dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt that made her seem more like a soccer-mom than a part of some military outpost.

"Doctor," Hawkins answered with a nod.

"Well, come on in," Natalie said as she waived him in the backdoor. "I apologize for the mess, but it seems my house was overrun by the 10th Mountain Division."

The backdoor of her house went into her kitchen which had broken dishes and various other items strewn around. It looked like a bomb had gone off or a bunch of guys went in and took everything off of every shelf and smashed it to the ground. Hawkins was glad that they hadn't come looking for him at his house. Darcy would've had a fit.

"No problem. It looks like it was a nice home," Hawkins half-heartedly joked coming across much colder than he would've liked. He was not good at being friendly.

"Yeah, maybe one day I'll have time to clean it up," she replied picking up a broken plate from the floor. "Well, you said there was a problem?"

"Actually, I've got two of them. First, Jake Green thinks you aren't what you say you are. Why are you telling people about who you're talking to?" Hawkins asked in accusatory tone.

Natalie thought about how to answer Hawkins. "Hawkins, it's not much of a secret. My official job title is Chief Meteorologist for the National Weather Service. It's sort of expected I am going to have to talk to people and that they are probably going to be pretty high up."

"Where does that leave me?"

"Believe me; I want to see that your mission is successful. I'll do what I can to help you out, but you got to realize my hands are tied to a large degree. I've got people high up the food chain I've got to answer to. If you want to blame someone, it's Chavez. He's the one who wanted me to get in with the administration."

"What do you want to do about Jake?" Hawkins asked conceding the point.

"Like I said, Jake's going to find out sooner or later about me and how I fit into all of this. I thought you planned to bring him in on this whole thing anyway."

"I do, but I'm trying to see how things are going to play out first," Hawkins replied. "He's too distracted to be involved much right now."

"I thought you said he could help us. Isn't that the reason I fought so hard to get him out of Texas?" Natalie asked in confusion.

"He can," Hawkins assured her. Hawkins had gone out of a limb to get Jake out of Texas. When members of the Texas governor's staff started reviewing Jake's FBI files, the past five years had not been too good for the man. There were a lot of people in the inner circle of government that were afraid that Jake was going to be trouble. Hawkins had gotten Natalie to see what she could do about getting him out. He owed Jake at least that much.

"You said you had two problems."

"Yeah, the other issue is the guy who was probably behind your kidnapping last night, Phil Constantino."

"Okay, so what's the concern?" Natalie asked.

"Well, Jake and some others are getting ready to take matters into their own hands," Hawkins explained.

"Oh, shit," Natalie replied.

"So, what are you going to do about it?" Hawkins said deciding to put this one in the Doctor's court.

"Why is this up to me? I'm just a freaking meteorologist," Natalie complained.

"You're the public face to this whole thing, remember?" Hawkins reminded her.

Natalie thought for a moment. "Yeah, I can probably get him arrested, but I'm not sure that's going to fly with the town and I am in no position to convince anyone in Jericho to do anything. Like I said, I'm just a meteorologist."

"If you can get Texas or the Feds to take him in, I'll see about convincing Jake and the rest to let it happen," Hawkins replied.

"Alright, I'll see what I can do," Natalie agreed with a sigh.


	12. Chapter 11 Revised

It's Not Over: Chapter 11: REVISED

Rating: PG-13 (Adult Language and Situations).

Disclaimer: The name "Jericho" and all character names and trademarks associated with the television program are the intellectual property of Junction Entertainment, Fixed Mark Productions, CBS Paramount Television and/or CBS Studios, Inc. The following story is intended solely as an intellectual exercise without profit motive. No infringement of copyright is intended or should be implied.

Notes: After doing some thinking and communicating with a few people, I have reworked Chapters 7 through 12. Some changes are minor and others are significant. Overall, the plot is the same, just certain characters and their actions have been changed/corrected. Thanks to JT, mainemom22, and jordanmr. As always, feedback is appreciated.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bill knew that he needed to get back to Town Hall to help in the planning of what to do with Constantino, but he'd wanted to see Natalie again. He'd gone to the high school expecting to find her, but she wasn't there. Major Beck had informed him that she decided to take the day off and see what was left of her house. Bill hadn't stepped foot in the home he had shared with Natalie since late June when Beck's men had ransacked it looking for him, but Bill hadn't really lived there since early winter when he'd moved in with his mom to take care of her. As he pulled up to the street, he tried not to think about the fact that she'd gone off on her own when Bill had told her that she needed to make sure to have someone with her at all times. He'd lost Natalie once and he wasn't going to lose her again.

The sight of Robert Hawkins pulling out of the driveway shook him from his thoughts. _What the hell was he doing here?_ Bill thought to himself. He parked his bronco in the empty driveway and made his way to the back of the house. He trudged through the weeds and high grass hoping he didn't step on some creature that had made its home there. About half the houses in town were in a similar situation as a lot of people had left after Beck's crackdown in the early summer. The town had about 5,000 people prior to the bombs, but that number had been slashed in half as people concerned about the oncoming winter and a war went south in hopes of finding a better situation. It was only the diehards who stayed.

Bill opened the backdoor and called out, "Hey Nat! Where are you?" She wasn't downstairs, but he saw a packed bag sitting on the floor and knew she was somewhere.

"Up here!" he heard Natalie call out.

Bill made his way through the disaster that was the kitchen and to the front of the house where the staircase was. He walked up trying to avoid the scattered remains of belongings long since abandoned. He finally found Natalie in their bedroom sitting on the bed looking through a box of some sort. "Hey, you could have woken me up before you left this morning." Bill said as he stopped in the doorway.

"What would the fun have been in that?" Natalie replied with a smile. "Did Jimmy wake you up with the barrel of shot gun again?"

"Yes! How could you do that to me?" Bill asked. "I was scared shitless."

"I told Jimmy you were asleep on the hide-a-bed before I left," Natalie defended. "And I told him that his couch was not defiled."

"That's what I told him," Bill replied. Jimmy had started laughing at Bill at that point and explained he was just messing with him. Bill could've killed Jimmy for it. He was not a morning person and waking up to your best friend holding a shot gun to your chest was not a good mood booster. "What are you doing alone? I thought I told you to make sure to have someone with you at all times."

"Sorry, everyone was busy and I just didn't have it in me to work at the high school today."

"You need to be more careful," Bill replied.

"Those guys weren't after me anyway. They wanted Heather," Natalie defended.

"Yeah, well, they seemed to have still kidnapped you," Bill shot back.

"I promise I'll be more careful," Natalie replied deciding that it wasn't worth fighting about. "Where's your sling?" Natalie asked noticing that he was without it.

"It's in the truck," Bill replied. "I saw Kenchy this morning and he removed my stitches. He said I need to start exercising it and that I should only use the sling when my shoulder really starts to hurt."

"That's good," she said with a smile. Natalie was glad that he was on the mend.

"So, what are you up to?" Bill asked knowing that it was pretty obvious that she was looking through her things. He really had a million other questions with much less obvious answers. He wanted to ask why Robert Hawkins had been at the house and what had happened the night before. Heck, he really wanted to know what had happened over the past year to her, but he figured he'd start out with an easy question and work his way up.

"I'm just looking at some things I'd left," Natalie replied. She'd grabbed a box out of her home office to put some things in. It was filled with bills she'd needed to pay when she got back and like the rest of the house were the remnants of a life interrupted. "I already got the clothes I want to take together. They're in a suitcase downstairs."

"I saw it," Bill acknowledged. He decided to take the plunge and broach a real subject. "We found the bodies of those men from last night."

"Oh," was all Natalie could manage.

"You're lucky you got out of there," Bill declared. When he'd seen the size of the men, he was surprised that the three of them had managed to get away.

"I know."

"Jimmy said you're the one who managed to get the three of you free. Why didn't you just run for it? Jake said you and Heather came back," Bill inquired.

"I wanted to, but Heather wouldn't leave Jake behind."

"You could have just left," Bill suggested.

"My instinct for self-preservation isn't quite as high as yours."

"Maybe it should be."

"Bill, you can't be telling me you would have left them there?" Natalie asked incredulously.

Bill thought for a moment, "No, I wouldn't have, but I'm a cop. It's my job."

"Can we just let this go?" Natalie asked.

"Fine," Bill replied. He knew that they needed to hash out what had happened over the past year, but he didn't want to do this right now. He wanted to feel her out. He knew she'd changed, but he'd changed too. People can't expect to live through what they had and come out the same. He wanted to find out who she was now before delving into the past. Changing subjects he asked, "So, you almost ready to go."

"Yeah, I just need to see what I can scrounge up from the bathroom," Natalie replied dumping the contents of the box on the bed and taking the empty box to the bathroom.

Bill left the doorway to the bedroom and followed her. "I'm sorry about the house."

"Like, I told you last night. It's just stuff," Natalie replied. "Anyway, they left the second floor pretty much intact. They must have given up." Natalie crouched on the floor and got under the sink to see what she could find. She had no idea what she'd left behind and whether someone might have gotten the good idea to give it away. Surprisingly, she found a whole plethora of things including shampoo, conditioner, ladies' razors, and even a large box of feminine hygiene products. She threw them all into the box. Anything that had belonged to Bill wasn't there anymore. She wasn't sure what to think about that. Natalie stood straight and set the box on the counter. She turned around to find Bill standing right behind her and smiled.

Bill wasn't smiling back. "What was Robert Hawkins doing in our house?" he accusingly asked as curiosity and anger got the best of him.

The way he asked angered Natalie, but she tried to brush it off. "What are you talking about?" Natalie asked.

"I just saw Robert Hawkins leave as I was driving up."

"He stopped for a cup of sugar?" Natalie jovially suggested.

"There's not a lick of food in this house. Mom scrounged every corner last fall for anything edible."

"Wrong. She didn't find my stash."

"Your stash?"

"My stash of junk food," Natalie replied. She walked past Bill back to the bed where another sealed plastic bin was sitting. She opened it up and produced a snack cake of some sort. "You want a Twinkie?"

Bill quickly snatched the Twinkie from Natalie's hand and fumbled with the packaging. Once opened, he put the cake to him nose and took a whiff. "Oh, where were you hiding these babies?"

"They were in my closet."

Bill took a bite of the Twinkie. "How did I not find these?" he asked with his mouth full.

Natalie sat down on the bed watched him finish off the snack cake. "You knew they were in there didn't you?"

"I knew you hid them somewhere," Bill replied. "Back to my original question, why the hell was Robert Hawkins here?"

"He came to tell me that Jake was asking questions about me," Natalie replied. She really didn't want to get into this, but if Bill was going to push she didn't have much of a choice.

"What?" Bill asked in confusion not understanding why Jake would be questioning who Natalie was. For goodness sake, they'd all grown up together.

"I guess he thinks I'm some sort of secret agent or something ridiculous like that."

"Are you?" Bill asked not sure what to think.

"No!" she honestly replied.

"So why is Jake concerned?"

"He thinks I could be a threat," Natalie replied with a shrug.

"You a threat?" Bill asked incredulously.

"I guess getting us free was enough to send alarm bells off in his head. Hawkins just wanted to let me know so I could talk to Jake and explain."

"Explain what? I still don't get it. I thought you were a meteorologist?" Bill asked with a perplexed look on his face.

"I am a meteorologist, but in order to get back to Kansas I had to take on some additional duties," Natalie explained truthfully.

"What kind of duties are we talking about?" Bill asked trying to control the anger that was growing inside him. "Additional duties" didn't sound safe.

"Whatever I'm told," Natalie replied honestly.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Bill asked in exasperation.

"It's complicated," Natalie answered with a sigh.

"I don't like complicated."

"I don't either, but I don't have a whole lot of choice," Natalie explained picking opening the box of junk food again finding a small snack size candy bar. She opened the package and took a bite.

"What else have you got in there?" Bill asked digging into the box himself.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Heather walked into town hall praying that she could convince the others that her solution to the Constantino problem was best. She had accepted that Jake was right; that Constantino needed to be taken out, but she was concerned that Jake and the gang would act first and think about the repercussions later. These guys had been in shoot up mode for so long that she doubted that they would take the time necessary to come to up with a reasonable plan.

She had a long talk with Major Beck trying to get his input on what to do. His suggestion was to find Natalie and see if she could arrange something on her end to have Constantino arrested by the government of Kansas or the military. He had explained that he was pretty much powerless at this point to get anything done, but that Natalie had the contacts to get something like that accomplished.

So, Heather had gone on a wild goose chase trying to find Natalie. After going to her house, to Bill's house, back to the high school, Heather had finally found Natalie at her brother's house playing outside with the kids. After explaining the situation, Natalie had agreed to make some calls and see what she could do. Finally, with her own plan in place, Heather found herself at town hall hoping that these guys would listen.

Heather found the group huddled around a table in the middle of the sheriff's station going over maps of what looked like New Bern. Among them were Jimmy, Jake, Stanley, Eric, Bill, Hawkins, and Gray Anderson.

"Hey Heather," Stanley called out as the first one to notice her presence.

"Hi," Heather replied.

"I thought you were going to be working at the high school all day," Jimmy commented looking at Heather.

"I was, but Jake asked me to come by and see if I could help out with your plans."

"Oh," Jimmy replied.

"So, what have you guys come up with?" Heather asked.

The men all looked at each other trying to decide what they wanted to tell. It was finally Gray Anderson who spoke up. "We're working on a plan to go after Constantino. I know you've been dead set against this, but last night proves that we've got to take him out."

"I get that he needs to be taken care of, but don't you think it would be better if we left it to someone with some authority?"

Jake finally decided to step in, "We already tried that and look where it left us. Major Beck was supposed to have handled Constantino and I don't see that Beck did anything, but strengthen Constantino's position."

"We do this and we're only asking for trouble," Heather declared frustration evident in her voice.

"If we don't, then we're asking for our people to be taken again," Eric replied. "What happens this winter when food is scarce again? Is he going to come after us?"

Gray looked disgusted. "Heather, maybe you should just go back to the high school and work on your stuff and leave us to do what we've got to do," Gray suggested in condescending voice.

Heather rolled her eyes. "You do this and you are asking for retaliation and you know that New Bern at this point doesn't have anything to lose."

Hawkins finally decided that he'd let this go on long enough. He'd hoped that Heather would be able to convince them since she'd been in charge of the Rangers, but it looked like they weren't thinking past what they were doing right now. "Heather's right. You don't want to go down this road," Hawkins warned.

"Hawkins, I understand that you think that this is a bad idea, but I don't know that we have any choice," Eric explained.

"Why not do what Heather is suggesting and let someone with authority take care of this problem for us?" Hawkins suggested hoping to steer the group in the same direction as Heather. Natalie had called him and told him that Heather had come by asking for help. He hoped that with Heather on board, he could convince the others that letting Texas or the Kansas government take care of Constantino was in Jericho's best interests.

"I don't trust the government," Gray complained. "Every time they come in and say they are going to solve all our problems it doesn't materialize."

"Gray, what are we going to do?" Jake asked. "We've gone over this a hundred times already. We don't have enough resources to go after him ourselves."

"I don't know, but I just don't think that letting someone else take care of this is in our best interests!" Gray exclaimed.

"Gray, we're not going to start another war with New Bern!" Heather shot back. She took a deep breath and calmed down. "I've got a plan together. I talked to Major Beck and to Natalie. They are making some calls to see if they can get Constantino arrested by the military."

"I'm sorry, but I don't trust Natalie or Major Beck," Jake interjected. "They are too attached to the Texas government and I'm not so sure that Texas cares about what happens to Jericho or to Kansas."

"I care," Natalie quietly spoke up from the entrance of the sheriff's department. She had quietly entered while they were arguing back and forth. "Jake, this is my home; my family is here. Of course I care what happens to Jericho."

"I don't mean any disrespect," Jake replied.

Heather turned to Natalie. "So?"

Natalie nodded indicating that she had it worked out.

"You want me to explain or you?" Heather asked.

"I really think you should. It's your plan," Natalie answered.

"You're the one with the details," Heather shot back.

"Will one of you just explain what the hell is going on!?" Gray yelled in frustration.

"Gray, would you just calm down. They are just trying to help. You yelling isn't doing anyone any good," Jake argued back.

"Fine," Gray replied.

"Since Heather seems to think you're the one to explain, Natalie please explain," Jake pleaded.

"Alright," Natalie said taking a big breath trying to find the courage to explain to all these people what she'd worked out.

Bill gave her a look of encouragement as he knew she didn't like the spotlight on her.

"Heather came to me to see if I could work out sort of way to take care of your Constantino problem. I checked with Major Beck who agreed with Heather that Jericho going after him is going to lead to more problems."

"What's the plan?" Eric asked.

"I called the Governor of Kansas, who happens to be a friend of mine. He was just appointed a few days ago by the President. Anyway, I gave him the details on what has been happening. He's actually pretty excited at the prospect of taking a man like Constantino down. Right now, an almost duel government exists in the state. The ASA is still claiming Kansas as theirs and has its own governor in place. Columbus, with the help of the Texas guard, managed to reclaim the capital and proclaimed the state as reunified with the Eastern states. By taking Constantino down in a public way, the new Governor is hoping to make a name for himself and help solidify support for his leadership."

"So, what's the governor going to do?" Jake asked.

"He's arranging for Constantino to be arrested by US troops on grounds of treason for selling secrets to the ASA."

"What happens to Constantino?" Bill asked.

"He gets tried for treason by military tribunal," Natalie answered.

Heather jumped in. "See, with Jericho's name and any one associated with the town left out of the charges, New Bern has no reason to attack Jericho in retaliation. As far as anyone there would be concerned, it was Constantino's own greed and hubris that got him in trouble."

"What happens if this doesn't work?" Stanley asked.

"You guys are welcome to go after him," Natalie answered. "I mean you're not going to see anybody from the government stopping you. They've already got too much going on as it is."

"Heather, you think this plan's going to work?" Jake asked.

"Yeah, I think this is our best bet and like Natalie said, if it doesn't work, we can take him on ourselves."

"What about the rest of you?" Jake inquired.

"Oh man, I'm all for anything that keeps us from getting shot at," Jimmy declared.

Everyone nodded their head in agreement.

"Good," Heather replied. "Natalie, call whoever you need to call to get it done."

"Will do," Natalie said opening the phone she was holding in her hands.

"Since none of us have to go after Constantino anymore, why don't we go start Eric's bachelor party a little early," Stanley suggested with a smile.

"Sounds good to me," Eric replied.

"Jimmy and Bill, are you two coming?" Stanley asked.

"No, I've got too much work to do," Jimmy replied honestly. He had spent most of the day working on the original stupid plan and he had a bunch of complaints that needed to be looked at.

"Count me out," Bill replied taking Natalie's hand as he headed for the door. Natalie was talking on her phone to presumably the governor as Bill led her out the door.

"Where are you two going?" Heather asked.

"None of your business," Bill said with a smile.

"This is going to be a fun bachelor party with only Eric, Jake, and I," Stanley complained.

"Count me out too," Jake replied grabbing Heather's hand and heading for the door.

"Well, this sucks!" Stanley joked.

"Ah, come on. Let's go get a drink at least. I know the owner of the bar and she'll get us our drinks for free," Eric lightheartedly replied heading for the door followed by Stanley.

"I can't turn down a free drink!" Stanley declared as they walked out of the sheriff's station and headed for Bailey's.


	13. Chapter 12 Revised

It's Not Over: Chapter 12 REVISED

Rating: PG-13 (Adult Language and Situations).

Disclaimer: The name "Jericho" and all character names and trademarks associated with the television program are the intellectual property of Junction Entertainment, Fixed Mark Productions, CBS Paramount Television and/or CBS Studios, Inc. The following story is intended solely as an intellectual exercise without profit motive. No infringement of copyright is intended or should be implied.

Notes: After doing some thinking and communicating with a few people, I have reworked Chapters 7 through 12. Some changes are minor and others are significant. Overall, the plot is the same, just certain characters and their actions have been changed/corrected. Thanks to JT, mainemom22, and jordanmr. As always, feedback is appreciated.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You know I should be doing something," Heather remarked as she lay on her couch with her bare feet on Jake's lap.

"You're always doing something. You need to rest," Jake replied as he started playing with one of her small toes. "Kenchy told you to take it easy."

"I'm just not a take it easy kind of person," Heather said with a sigh. In her head was a list of about twenty things that needed to get done. Besides feeling guilty about sitting around while the list grew, she also didn't like the fact that when she wasn't moving, it gave her time to think and thinking wasn't something she was particularly interested in doing at this point.

"Well, you're going to have to force yourself to be," Jake said with a smile trying to sound non-demanding and trying not to think about the fact it sounded like something his mother would say. He had figured out pretty quick why Kenchy had started telling people behind Heather's back that she was pregnant. If it was up to Heather, she'd work herself to death. Jake was still concerned over the lasting effects of the night before. Visions of his sister-in-law dying when she was four months along were still with him to this day. Even though Kenchy had told them that there was nothing that anyone could have done to prevent it, Jake still thought that April had worked too hard and ended up dead in the process. "Anyway, how are you feeling?"

"I'm okay. I'm just sore and a bit tired from last night, but otherwise no issues," She replied not understanding what was really behind that question.

"Good," Jake replied as he started rubbing one of her feet. "So, you're not having any contractions or pains or anything?"

"Jake, I'm fine," Heather said in an almost whine. "If you are so concerned, are you free tomorrow morning?"

"Beside, Eric's wedding tomorrow afternoon; I don't really have anything I have to do. Why?" Jake asked his brow titled up.

"Kenchy asked me to come back in for a check-up. He wants to do an ultrasound to make sure everything is on schedule. He said we might even get to find out the sex."

"I'll be there," Jake said without hesitation. "So, got any ideas on whether this baby's a boy or a girl?" He reached over and gently rubbed her stomach.

"To be honest, I haven't given it a lot of thought," Heather honestly replied sounding a bit sad. She put her hand on his. "I don't want to sound like I'm not excited about having a baby, but I'm really not all that excited about having this baby."

"That has to be the most convoluted statement I've ever heard," Jake said shaking his head.

"I spent the first almost three months that I knew I was pregnant trying to ignore it. For awhile there, I hate to say this, but I was kind of hoping that it wasn't true. I mean what God would allow a baby to be brought into this world at this time? I hate to admit this, but I'm scared," Heather replied tears coming to her eyes.

"That's understandable. I think we're all scared."

"What world is this baby even going to be coming into? We're living in the middle of a war zone."

"I know."

"And how long are we even going to be able to remain here? How long are you going to be here?"

"We'll stay as long as we can and I'm not planning on going anywhere," Jake replied.

"But Jake, I overheard the men at the school today. They are organizing militias of locals to go to the front lines. Do you think you're going to be able to stay behind and let everyone else go?"

"What else did you hear?" Jake asked ignoring her question.

"There have been some small skirmishes on the boarder with Colorado between ASA and our troops. They said that it's slowly escalating," Heather answered worry evident in her voice. "Of course, I already knew that, but the part about putting the militias in the field was new."

"I promise that I will do everything in my power to protect you and our child. We'll pull through," Jake promised hoping he was right. There were so many things weighing on his mind. Oncoming war was probably top on his list of worries. He wondered just how long he would be able to stay. Heather was right; if Jericho Rangers go to war, he'll go with them. It really wasn't a matter of if, but when.

Another concern that Jake had was over Natalie Taylor and how she fits into the scheme of things. He hadn't been successful in getting much information on her. "Happen to find out anything about Natalie?" Jake asked.

"Other than the fact that she doesn't talk about her private life to the people she works with and that she not mechanically inclined, not much. If this tells you anything, they were placing bets on whether she was married, single, or had a boyfriend."

"She was always a quiet one," Jake replied. "For a long time, we all thought she was mute or something because she never spoke to anyone."

"Well, she is Jimmy's sister. He probably spoke enough for both of them," Heather remarked.

Silence fell as they both just enjoyed each other's company.

"So, do you think the plan is going to work?" Jake asked Heather disrupting the silence.

"I don't know," Heather replied honestly. "What did you guys have planned anyway?"

"It wasn't that good," Jake honestly said. He wished he'd been a bit more creative, but unfortunately scheming was never his strong suit. His plans usually ended very badly and when they worked it was usually by the skin of his teeth. "It was more along the lines of us going in, taking him out, and hopefully getting out of there before we got caught."

"Sounds like a terrible plan," Heather said a slight frown coming to her face as she had visions of the group of men being shot at as they fled town.

"Well, we don't have much to work with," Jake defended. It was true; with dwindling numbers, they really didn't have the resources to launch a full on attack on New Bern.

"By the way, what did you find out about Natalie?" Heather asked.

"Not much either. That's why I was hoping you learned something from the guardsmen. According to Hawkins, he couldn't find out much other than she is a meteorologist and she's got some influential friends in both the Texas and Columbus government. Other than that, there wasn't anything to tell."

"See, I told you," Heather replied.

"I'm not so sure I'm buying Hawkins' story. I've been around him long enough to be able to read when he's hiding something. I don't think he's telling me everything."

"You don't trust Hawkins?" Heather asked with concern.

"To be honest, no, but then again, he doesn't trust me either. It's just the way things work between us. He only tells me when it becomes absolutely necessary."

"Nice friend," Heather replied.

"I'm not sure that Hawkins actually has any friends," Jake remarked with a bit of a chuckle.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bill's room was starting to darken as the sun began to set in the autumn sky. As the temperature dropped outside and the house cooled off, Bill could feel Natalie snuggle closer to him. He closed his eyes and breathed in the scent of her. How many times had they laid like this over the years, but never had it meant this much to him. Only two days ago, he thought she was dead, but now she was here, alive. He was never a very philosophical kind of guy, but he knew that one rarely got a second chance like this. He, probably less than anyone, deserved it.

He looked down at the sleeping Natalie whose even breaths were hitting his chest. He thought about trying to take a nap too, but instead watched her sleep. Bill had so many questions he wanted to ask her and so much he wanted to say, but he was having trouble getting there. He started thinking about all the "what ifs." What if Natalie hadn't gone to Texas? What would have happened to her and to them over the past year? What if he'd gone with her? Before he could think any more on it, Natalie stirred and scooted away from him. She turned over and buried her head in a pillow mumbling to herself as she started to wakeup. He couldn't make out what she was saying. He remained silent waiting for her to speak first.

Finally Natalie lifted her head and looked at her watch which Bill recognized as the one he'd given her a couple of Christmas's ago. He was surprised it was still working with the EMP that had taken out all of the electronic devices including watches in most of the country. She turned to Bill who was just watching, "I've got to get going."

"Where do you have to go? I thought you took the day off or something," Bill complained.

"There is no such thing as a personal day in the middle of war, Billy. I've got to go over the weather reports from the rest of the field offices around the country and get them to command by midnight tonight," Natalie replied as she started reaching for her clothes which were at this point scattered about the bed.

"When are you going to be finished?" Bill asked.

"Depends on whether everyone sent their reports to me on time. If I got them all at a reasonable hour, I should be able to get my report finished in a couple of hours. Otherwise, I could be there until midnight."

"So, what time do you want me to come by and pick you up?"

"You know I can get myself from point A to point B. I've been taking care of myself for awhile now," Natalie answered with a smile.

"Yeah, I know you can take care of yourself, but I'd feel better knowing you are with someone. Can you do that for me?" Bill pleaded.

"Alright, I give up. If you want to be my personal escort, then you've got the job, but I'll warn you, when Mike get's here he's going to fight you for it."

"Mike who?" Bill replied in confusion.

"Oh, I didn't tell you. Mike Anderson, Gray's son, is part of the team coming here in a couple of days. He's been my partner in crime for the past year."

"You and Mike found each other in Texas?" Bill asked incredulously. Visions of her and Mike together flashed before his eyes.

"Not intentionally," Natalie defended.

"How then?" Bill asked.

Natalie was silent for a moment as she contemplated how much of the past year she wanted to tell him about. She knew that of all the people in Jericho he was probably one of the few who she could trust with the truth. And it was all going to come out eventually. "It's a long story."

"I've got nothing, but time," Bill replied.

"Are you sure you want to know?" Natalie warned.

"It can't be that bad," Bill suggested. "After everything we've been through here, I can't imagine it was much different down there."

Natalie shook her head at his statement, "You know Bill; you can be a real ass." Natalie got up and started throwing her clothes on.

"That's not what I meant," Bill defended trying to reach for her. "I'm sorry."

Natalie was frustrated with herself and with Bill. She knew he didn't mean to be insensitive. "I know. I'm sorry too."

"How was it out there?"

"It was hell, but I know that it was hell here too," Natalie replied acknowledgment filling her voice. Once she was fully dressed, she sat back down on the bed and scooted herself so she was sitting against the headboard. "What probably made it worse is that I screwed up."

"What do you mean you screwed up?" Bill asked sitting up and turn himself so that he was facing Natalie.

"I don't know how to tell you this, but I helped plan the attacks," Natalie answered cringing.


	14. Chapter 13

It's Not Over: Chapter 13

Rating: PG-13 (Adult Language and Situations).

Disclaimer: The name "Jericho" and all character names and trademarks associated with the television program are the intellectual property of Junction Entertainment, Fixed Mark Productions, CBS Paramount Television and/or CBS Studios, Inc. The following story is intended solely as an intellectual exercise without profit motive. No infringement of copyright is intended or should be implied.

Notes: I apologize for the long delay in getting this chapter posted, but RL got in the way the past month and half. When we left our intrepid characters, Heather and Jake were lounging about and Natalie had revealed to Bill that she played a part in the attacks.

Another note: This chapter is based on the revised chapters.

As always, feedback is appreciated. I also want to throw out my thanks to jordanmr for her feedback.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Heather walked down the stairs to her basement looking for Jake. Her nose wrinkled at the smell of the musty dank rooms as the odor wafted up the stairway. The only source of light was the windows near the ceiling and a lantern she usually carried down with her. Even though she had mentioned that she could move her work down here, she doubted that she could will herself to do it. She'd never admit it to anyone, but Heather's basement gave her the Hebe-jibes. She didn't know if it had to do with her time in New Bern or just all of her father's stuff that was down there, but at times she'd come down and felt a presence like the place was haunted.

She knew Jake was still in the house as his shoes and coat were there, but he had gone exploring while Heather had been asleep on the couch. She knew that the moment she'd mentioned the gun collection, Jake would make a point to come down there. Heather was reluctant to part with her father's prized possessions, but she knew that they should be used for the greater good. Her father would have wanted it that way.

"Jake, are you down there?" Heather called out into the darkness as she stopped half-way down the stairs.

"Yeah, I'm in the basement," Jake replied back his voice echoing in the still dankness.

Heather walked the rest of the stairs, lantern in hand and came to where Jake was evaluating an AK-47 semi-automatic assault rifle in the faint glow of another lantern. She smiled as he examined the weapon. "What do you think?"

"I'm not sure all of these are legal," Jake remarked as he took inventory of the guns in the cases. He knew for sure the one he was holding had been banned at some point. "I'm also not sure that I can even find ammo for some of these."

"Yeah, that's part of the reason I haven't mentioned them before. A lot of those weapons are antique," Heather explained. "My dad had an affinity for any and all firearms even if they weren't always legal. He used to say that God and guns were the only two things that made the world go 'round."

"Sounds like a wise man. What was he like?" Jake asked seeing even in the faint light of the basement that Heather's thoughts were elsewhere.

"You're going to laugh at this, but he was a lot like you," Heather replied with a smile reflecting back on her father.

"Like, me? I can't imagine a screw-up like me raising as good a good girl like you," Jake candidly replied. "I doubt he was anything like me."

"Not every leader is born to the role. It's not like my dad was a natural New Bern Sheriff. When he was younger, he ran with a rough crowd. He even said that joining the Air Force saved his life; otherwise he would have just ended up in jail or dead. 'Leaders aren't born, they are created through adversity' is what he always told me.

Of course, he use to tell that to me when I'd come home crying because the 'cool' kids had made my life miserable again. My dad was always good at making me feel good about myself, even when I didn't know how I'd make it through."

"Sounds like he was a good father," Jake remarked realizing he'd probably tell his own kid that same thing some day.

"Oh, he did a decent job raising me, but it wasn't always easy. My dad really didn't have any idea what to do with a daughter. I knew more about radiators than I did make-up when I was sixteen. We use to rebuild cars together," Heather unnecessarily explained. Her face turned serious. "Of course, that was when he was home. My dad was a member of the Air Guard and Sheriff. When he wasn't doing either job, he was working on cars. I think part of the reason I got interested in them was to just have some time with him. Otherwise, I spent most of my time on my own."

"That must have been tough."

"It was, but I wouldn't trade my father for anything. He taught me to be resilient, resourceful, and to not depend on anyone, but myself. I know it was those things that have kept me alive this long," Heather acknowledged. Wanting to take the focus of her, she asked, "How about you? What was it like growing up with your Dad?"

Jake shook his head and gave her the bitter half smile that exemplified his whole relationship with his father. "Problem with Eric and I is that my father was Mayor for most of our lives. You would think that running a small city like Jericho would be just some part-time job, but my father saw it as a full-time commitment. We spent so much of our lives just trying to get attention and some sense of approval from him. It never felt like anything we did was good enough for him.

Of course, Eric and I did went about it completely different ways. Eric worked to be the best at anything and everything. He ratcheted up the sibling rivalry big time. He worked to get the best grades in school, to get into the best college, and be the best athlete.

I went the opposite way. If there was something that my father wouldn't approve of, I'd go full speed in that direction. I didn't realize it at the time, but now I know I did most of the stupid things just trying to get some sort of acknowledgment from my dad even if it was just being yelled at because getting yelled at was better than being ignored. Since nothing I ever did was good enough and I was never going live up to his expectations, I might as well do whatever the hell I wanted."

"Your dad seemed like such a good guy," Heather commented with concern in her voice looking sadly at him. "Everyone said he loved his family."

"Oh, my father loved his family, but the problem was that my Dad loved this town, too. I don't think he realized what he gave up to be the kind of Mayor he wanted to be. He refused to hire a town manager or any of the other things that towns of a similar size have. He didn't think anyone else could do as good as job as him."

"Isn't that how it always is? My dad had that problem, too."

"Yeah, something about leaders never thinking anyone else can step up," Jake said in accusing voice, giving Heather a look like she was guilty of the same sin.

"Okay, so I have the same problem. It's just that I keep getting proved over and over again if I leave things up to you guys, you are going to make a mess of things or worse, get yourselves killed."

"Oh, I know we need you. I need you. I just want you to think about that going forward," Jake suggested.

"I promise that I will," Heather agreed. She looked over the guns and rifles. "So, do you think you'll be able to use any of them?"

"Probably about half of them are usable. I'll have to check with Bill on our stockpile of ammo," Jake replied. Jake looked up at the window and saw that the sun was beginning to set and knew that they needed to get to his mom's house for dinner. "It's starting to get late. We better get going if we want to eat dinner at Mom's."

Heather nodded in agreement. She watched Jake as he gently laid down the rifle he had been inspecting. All of the sudden the dankness of the basement disappeared and all she could see was the Jake Green she'd met over a year ago who didn't feel like he was good enough, but still managed to save lives. She smiled as she realized that he still held the same attraction to her, but now it was deeper; it was love. After everything that they'd been through, she was still in love with him.

Jake looked back at Heather who was staring intently at him wondering what she was thinking. He watched her set down the lantern she's been holding on a folding chair near where she kept the gun cases. As he saw the smile dancing across her lips, a similar smile struck his. She was so beautiful. For a moment, he forgot about the oncoming war and his own self-doubts and concentrated on the woman before him. He slowly moved forward until their lips met.

Heather was overwhelmed with desire and love as Jake crushingly kissed her. Heather instinctively put her arms around his neck as she felt his hands play with edges of her shirt. His tongue sought entrance into her mouth and she obliged being mesmerized by the dance like rhythm of his tongue. She felt his hands explore her body and pull her closer until there was no space between them. She felt her knees buckle as warmth spread through her.

"Jake…Jake are you there?" Eric's voice crackled over the radio breaking the spell that had taken over them.

Jake reluctantly pulled away from Heather and picked up the radio. "Eric, what's the matter?"

"Mom just wanted to find out if you and Heather were still coming to dinner," Eric asked back.

Jake looked at Heather who was putting herself to rights again. Heather gave him a nod indicating that she wanted to still go.

"Yeah, will be there in a few minutes," Jake answered.

"See you in a few then," Eric replied unaware of what he'd just interrupted with his radio call.

"I got to talk to him about only using the radio for emergencies," Jake exasperatingly declared. "Do you really want to go over there right now?" Jake pleaded hoping that Heather would change her mind.

"I'm starving Jake! I'm eating for two remember?" Heather said rubbing her stomach. As if on cue, her stomach began to growl. "We can take up where we left off later." Heather gave him a seductive smile.

"I'll hold you to that," Jake said as he gave her a quick chaste kiss. With a chuckle, he picked up both lanterns and followed Heather up the stairs as he thought about the fact that his baby wasn't even born yet and it was already interfering with his sex life.

"What's so funny?" She asked back.

"Nothing, just thinking about the future is all," Jake replied as he followed Heather through the door to rest of the house.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You did what?!" Bill exclaimed as he bounded from the bed already assuming the worst.

"I suppose I should have added the word 'unintentionally'," Natalie replied, her voice withdrawn. She drew her knees up to her chest and rested her head on them. An internal debate was raging inside her as she tried to decide if she should even bother continuing. Bill was always jumping to conclusions and she feared she'd lost him with just the initial statement.

"How the hell do you unintentionally help blow up half the country?" Bill asked angrily as he picked his pants up off the floor and started getting dressed.

"It's not nearly as difficult as it sounds," Natalie sheepishly answered keeping her head in place.

Bill didn't say anything in reply. He just put the rest of his clothes on and started pacing the floor.

"What are you thinking?" Natalie asked looking up finally breaking the silence.

"I don't even know what I'm thinking."

"Bill, you know me. I am not the kind of person who is going to knowingly help destroy everything I care about and love," Natalie pleaded hoping he'd listen long enough to allow her to tell him the whole story. "May I explain?"

"Oh, this should be good," Bill sarcastically declared. He stopped pacing and leaned against the door to his room.

"Bill, you know you could at least pretend to be a caring, understanding person," Natalie complained.

Bill closed his eyes in frustration as he realized he was being an ass again. "I'm sorry. I'm listening," he responded trying to make sure that any shred of sarcasm was gone.

Natalie took a deep breath trying to find the words to explain. "Well, before the bombs, I was doing a lot of contract work for Jennings and Rall including some special confidential projects."

"Yeah, I remember," Bill replied nodding his head in acknowledgment.

"Well, one of those special projects was updating a report for the Department of Defense on the environmental effects of twenty-five bombs going off in twenty-five cities."

"I thought you studied the weather. What the hell do you know about bombs?" he asked in trademark confusion.

"Bill, did you read my dissertation or did you just throw it in a pile along with everything else I ever gave you?" Natalie asked in frustration already knowing the answer.

"I read it," Bill defended.

Natalie gave him a dubious look.

"Okay, so I didn't read it," Bill admitted. "What does it have to do with anything?"

"My specialty was nuclear meteorology. Not all meteorologists just study the weather."

"What is 'nuclear meteorology'?" Bill asked giving her a confused look.

"It's too hard to explain. Anyway, this particular report was mostly dealing with fall-out patterns and where the radiation would go after the bombs."

"Why didn't I know this?" Bill asked looking even more befuddled.

"You never asked," Natalie replied shrugging her shoulders. She then added, "And I didn't and couldn't talk about it. Most of the work I did was highly classified including this report. Look, I didn't know how it was going to be used. It was supposed to be one of those crazy contingency plans that were being thrown about after 9-11. Everyone was planning for everything. I figured the report was just one of those outrageous requests from the DOD."

"You write a report on what happens if twenty-five bombs go off in the U.S. and you don't question it?" Bill asked skeptically.

"Look, at the time, the bombs hadn't gone off. There was no indication to me that anyone was planning anything. I thought I was helping to protect America, not destroy it. If I had thought for one moment that my work was going to be used this way, I would've have never done it."

"So, how did that report help them plan?"

"That report gave them the blue print on where to strategically place J&R's resources so that when the bombs went off, they'd be the only game in town."

"That sounds about right. They came in here shutting down any business that was not dealing directly with them," Bill offered as he thought about the ramifications of what Natalie was relaying to him.

"Yeah, it's pretty much the same story everywhere they go. They come in promising they are going to fix everything and it ends up being a bad deal for the people. J&R, I've come to find out, is nothing more than a criminal enterprise wrapped up in the seemingly innocent guise of a benevolent corporation. They are a bunch of crooks that are willing to get rid of anyone or anything that stands in their way; whether that obstacle is a country or just some naïve meteorologist."

"You mean they came after you?" Bill asked with concern moving from his place at the door to sit on the edge of the bed next to Natalie.

Natalie solemnly nodded her head. "I got lucky. The guy they sent to eliminate me on the day of the bombs was a CIA agent who had infiltrated the terrorist cell. He wasn't aware that Jennings and Rall was behind the plot and he didn't know why they wanted me dead, but he figured that I probably held some pretty important information or they wouldn't have gone to the trouble of ordering my murder."

"I should have gone with you," Bill replied with disgust at himself.

"What good would it have done?" Natalie asked. "I had people looking out for me along the way, especially Mike."

"How did you meet up with Mike anyway?" Bill asked remembering that was where this conversation had started from.

"One night, about a month after the bombs, the CIA agent and I ended up in makeshift camp outside of Brownsville. He was debating whether it would be better to get me across the border to Mexico or head north to his rally point. In any case, he left me alone while I was asleep to see if he could find out anything. Some random guy took advantage and tried to rape me. Mike pulled the guy off me just in time, killing him. He did it without even knowing who I was. It wasn't until after that we realized we knew each other. Anyway, Mike had it out with the CIA agent about leaving me alone without warning and immediately volunteered to be my personal protector," Natalie explained in the sort of detached manner that a year in hell allows.

"God, I want to kill the agent myself," Bill said angrily as he though about what she must have been feeling at the time.

"Believe me, he realized his mistake and it never happened again," Natalie assured him. "And it led me to meeting up with Mike who made the past year bearable. You can't imagine how nice it was to have someone from home with me."

"Yeah," Bill jealously replied.

"Bill, don't be that way. Mike is a friend. That's all," Natalie said putting a hand on Bill's face.

Bill took a deep breath and closed his eyes reveling in Natalie's touch, as any feelings of jealousy faded away. In its place, he could feel the anger building again as he thought about the danger that she'd been in the past year. All he could think about was how he was going to protect her in the future. "What are we going to do?"

Natalie had to keep herself from smiling at the word "we." She took a deep breath before answering, "There isn't much anyone can do. I've spent the past year trying to figure out a way to make things right, but I'm not sure if that is even possible. I just keep trudging along; doing what's asked, in hopes that whatever I do will either make things better for those who are left or help take down Cheyenne."

"I can't imagine the ASA is particularly happy that you're still alive. Are they still after you?" Bill asked with heavy amount of concern in his voice.

"I'm not sure any more. Once I made my existence known, I was inside the Texas government and the precarious nature of the relationship between Cheyenne and San Antonio made me safe. Now that they are enemies, I maybe back on the list of those they'd like to see eliminated, but I don't know. I figure I am as safe in Jericho as I was in Texas and here I'm no longer a prime target. I've got a turn-coat Major, a supposed hometown hero, and a former CIA agent who are much higher on the list of the ASA's most wanted in town."

"That's just so reassuring," Bill sarcastically complained.

"Well, you're here to protect me now aren't you?" Natalie suggested patting his cheek trying to get him to feel better.

"Yeah," Bill replied with a nod.

"We'll get through," Natalie assured him. "Death, life, war; they're all kind of like the weather. You really can't control it. You just got to deal with it as it comes." Natalie kissed Bill on the cheek.

Bill was quiet for a moment and Natalie could tell he was thinking through something. She watched as he got up from his place on the edge of the bed and went to the bureau. He opened the top drawer and rummaged through looking for something. She couldn't make out what he had in his hand until he had closed the drawer and had turned. He held a small jewelry box and Natalie wondered what he was up to.

Bill came back to the bed, but instead of sitting down he bent down on the floor next to it kneeling next to where Natalie was sitting. He opened the small box and pulled out a ring.

Natalie gave him a puzzled look. "What are you up to?"

"Just doing something I should have done a long time ago. Natalie, will you marry me?" Bill asked in all seriousness.

"Bill, I just told you that I unintentionally helped blow up half of the U.S. and you still want to marry me?" she asked skeptically.

"Look, none of what happened is your fault. If they hadn't gotten you to write that report, I'm sure they would have found someone else," Bill tried to assure her.

"But, I should have known better. I'm a smart person," Natalie replied shaking her head looking off into space.

"Natalie. You didn't do anything wrong," Bill urged. "You've got to stop beating yourself up about this."

"I know, but…"

"But what? You're a good person who did what you thought was the right thing. Just because it turned out bad doesn't make your part in it bad. Look, we all make decisions we regret. My life is full of them," Bill explained.

"Like voting for Gray Anderson," Natalie said finally looking at him and smiling.

"I don't know that it was a _bad_ decision," Bill half-heartedly defended. "And, how do you know who I voted for anyway?"

"Jimmy led me to believe you supported Gray's candidacy," Natalie said with smirk.

"It was a secret ballot. No one knows who I voted for," Bill defended. "ANYWAY, do you get what I'm trying to say?"

"Yeah, I get it," Natalie replied knowing that he was just trying to cheer her up.

Holding out the ring again for her, "So, what do you say?"

She took a deep breath trying to decide if she should just take the leap. This was what she wanted, wasn't it? She loved him; he loved her. She knew that no matter what he was the one she wanted beside her when the world started crashing around them. With tears of happiness in her eyes, she answered, "Yes, I'll marry you."

He slipped the white gold band of diamonds on her left ring finger. "I love you."

The excitement took over and she put her arms around Bill's neck and pulled him in for a kiss.

"Ow! Watch the shoulder," Bill laughingly exclaimed into Natalie's mouth.

"Ooo, sorry," Natalie said as she smilingly cringed. She removed her arms from around his neck.

"Oh, nothing to be sorry about," Bill assured her. He slipped a tendril of hair from her face and put it back behind her ear. "I'm just glad you're mine."

"I love you William Kohler," Natalie declared giving him another kiss.


	15. Chapter 14

It's Not Over: Chapter 14

Rating: PG-13 (Adult Language and Situations). Please be advised this chapter contains violence and death. Not for the squeamish.

Disclaimer: The name "Jericho" and all character names and trademarks associated with the television program are the intellectual property of Junction Entertainment, Fixed Mark Productions, CBS Paramount Television and/or CBS Studios, Inc. The following story is intended solely as an intellectual exercise without profit motive. No infringement of copyright is intended or should be implied.

Notes: I know this update has been a long time coming. I hope it was worth the wait. This chapter was not beta read as I wanted to get it posted sooner rather than later. All mistakes are my own. Feedback is encouraged!

We left off with Natalie and Bill getting engaged, Heather and Jake getting closer, and Constantino finally being taken into custody. In case you can't figure it out on first read, I've moved forward to the next day.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"_Daddy, are you out here?" Heather called as she stepped into the large garage. She took her blue woven gloves off and set them on a cold stainless steel table by the door. Heather smiled at the feel of the warmth that radiated the place. Several years ago, her father had the old garage torn down and had this one built in its place. One of things he'd insisted on was having it heated. _

_She looked around surveying the garage for the first time in two months. The modern garage was separate from the house. It had everything that was needed to work on and repair the classic cars that were one of her father's passions. As Heather started walking around, she quietly fingered the metal shelves of neatly kept parts and tools. She ran her hand on the automotive tool boxes that contained even more items that her father had collected over the years. Finally, her attention was fixed at the center piece of the garage, an old red and white Chevy truck that looked like her father was just beginning to work on. She rested her hand on the truck resisting the temptation to go inside the cab and pop the hood. _

"_Heather, you like her?" Her father's deep baritone voice asked from behind Heather. _

_A wide smile overtook her face as she turned to answer her father. "I love it! Is this your newest project?" Heather studied her father as she awaited his answer. Though her father was fifty, he didn't look it. His mischievous blue eyes danced with anticipation and his lips held a half-smile that he reserved for when he wanted to charm someone. The only indication that her father was getting older was the salt and pepper hair which he wore in a short style._

_She evaluated his clothing trying to decide where he'd come from. He was dressed in his New Bern Sheriff uniform sans the hat which she always gave him grief for. Even though the uniform was unattractive, her father wore it well with his broad shoulders and lean torso. He kept in shape by working outdoors as much as possible. _

_Still smiling, he answered, "Yep, and I've got to get working on it pretty quickly if I'm going to get it done on time." His raised his eye brows trying to gauge his daughter's reaction. _

"_Deadline?" Heather asked in a disappointed voice. She had hoped that this car was one for himself and not on someone else's behalf. _

"_Yeah, I've got to get her done, so you can have her on your graduation!" he replied with a chuckle._

_Heather gave her father a questioning look, "You mean she's mine?" _

_Her father reached around and put his arm around his daughter. Heather instinctively rested her head on his broad shoulder. "Baby, you always said you wanted a classic Chevy truck. I thought after all that work you've done and doing so well in school you deserve a treat. So, I'm going to fix her up for you. What do you want to name her?" _

"_Charlotte," Heather immediately shot out. _

"_After your mother, a good choice," Robert Lisinski replied giving his daughter a squeeze. "So, you like her? I know other kids get a new Mercedes Benz or Audi or something, but I wanted to give you something…." He got a bit choked up. _

"_Something sentimental?" Heather suggested. "Daddy, I love her. It is exactly what I wanted. Only thing I'm peeved about is that I can't help you work on her very much."_

"_I know. I miss working on these old beauties with you, but you're off to bigger and better things. How many people can say that they are going to help design the next space shuttle?" _

"_I'm not sure I even want to take that job," Heather replied in exasperation. She'd been offered a position working for an aviation company as an engineer. Heather had also gotten her elementary teaching certificate at the same time as she wasn't sure which direction she wanted to go. There were so many things she wanted to do, but most of all she wanted to please her father._

_Knowing his daughter better than she knew herself, he explained, "Heather, you have a rare opportunity that the majority of people do not have. Most of us are stuck with maybe one or two gifts. You, baby,, are one of those people who can do anything. You'll do great things no matter what you choose. Though, I have to say designing something that's going to go into space is pretty damn exciting."_

_Heather smiled at her father's statement and shook her head. _

"_You are capable of so many things. I am so proud that you are my daughter."_

"Earth to Heather," Jake's voice shook Heather from her thoughts as he came up to the driver's side window of Heather's truck, Charlotte. Heather's hands were still on the steering wheel as she looked toward Jake who had exited the vehicle while Heather was lost in her thoughts. He was now leaning over the top of the driver's side window peering in.

"Oh, sorry about that," Heather replied opening her eyes wider trying to focus on Jake who was wearing one of his delicious smiles.

Jake reached in brushed a kiss on Heather's lips with a smile. "Babe, don't be," Jake explained giving Heather a concerned look while his face was still only a few inches away. "Are you feeling alright?" Jake asked as he examined her face trying to decide if she was secretly sick or something.

"Just got a lot on my mind is all," Heather quickly answered hoping that Jake wouldn't pry any further. She didn't want to have to explain that seeing images of the baby this morning was dredging up memories of her father. He was on her mind most days since she had found out she was pregnant. On top of that, this morning word had come that they took Constantino into custody which made it worse. As much as Constantino had done to her and to everyone, he was one of the last connections she had left to her father. Heather was saddened that things had to turn out this way.

"I know. It's all become so real today hasn't it?" Jake asked referring to their morning doctor's visit with Kenchy not realizing to what extent Constantino's arrest was affecting Heather.

"Yeah, it has," Heather said with a concerned look on her face.

Jake stopped for a moment as he opened the driver's side door, he asked, "What's really bothering you?"

"I don't know. I guess this whole thing with Constantino is bothering me and I don't know why. After everything he's done, I'm glad he's getting what's due, but I can't help feeling sad about the way things turned out."

Jake shook his head, "Only you would feel sorry for the guy."

"I know I'm weird," Heather cringed.

"I don't mean that in a bad way," Jake quickly corrected. "It's just that you have this great ability to see the good in people even when they are at their very worst. It's a good thing."

"I don't know about that," Heather replied trying to correct him. "I'm just starting to wonder if this whole arresting Constantino was the right thing to do. You know him; he seems to always manage to survive. What if he manages to smooth talk himself out of custody?"

"Aren't you the one who is always telling me that things will work out?" Jake asked as he gently pulled Heather out of the truck. "We have so much right now to be happy about. Don't waste time worrying about Constantino or any of it. We've got to focus on the good stuff. Kenchy said everything is great, you're great, the baby's good, I'm good. We're about to go celebrate something happy for once. Let's not worry about what we can't control and just enjoy the moment."

"You're right," Heather replied with a forced smile more knowing that he was right than feeling it. "We better get in there before there's nothing left to eat."

Jake gently closed the driver's side door of Heather's truck and led Heather into Bailey's.

As Heather entered the bar, she listened to the small crowd that had made their way there for the informal reception that Gail Green had put together for Eric and Mary's wedding. The bar was closed to normal patrons and only guests of the wedding were there.

She surveyed the room. By looking at the bar itself, there was no indication that this was a wedding reception. There were no decorations, flowers, or anything else that one would normally see. The dark wood room looked as it did every other day of the week except that a bunch of tables had been put together in the middle so that everyone could sit together.

The wedding had been small with only the closest friends of Eric and Mary having been invited. With that being said, it was also the make up of most of the core leadership of the town at this point and they were all dressed in their best clothes. Mary, Eric, Stanley, Mimi, Emily, Jimmy, Natalie, and Bill were all seated at the table already casually chatting each other. Robert Hawkins was his normal cool aloof self; sitting at the bar watching the scene as a detached observer rather than a participant. Gray Anderson was walking back to the table with a drink in hand. Darcy, Margaret, and Gail were going back and forth from the kitchen bringing in various items that they had managed to put together for the occasion.

"Hey, where have you been?" Eric lightheartedly asked Jake and Heather as they approached the tables.

"Took our time is all," Jake answered his brother as he pulled out an open chair for Heather next to Bill.

Heather blushed as his chivalry, "Thanks." Heather tried to gracefully sit down like Audrey Hepburn in one of those old movies would do, but it came off much more clumsily than she would have liked. She still wasn't particularly large, but her ligaments had loosened up which made her feel awkward.

"You're welcome," Jake smoothly replied pushing her seat seeming unconcerned that Heather couldn't pull off the movie star gracefulness.

She caught the eye of Emily who had watched the pair enter the room. In Emily's eyes, Heather could see hurt and pain as Emily quickly turned her attention back to Stanley and Mimi who were laughing over some story that Jimmy was telling. Heather's eyes fell and she chewed her bottom lip as she decided what to do. Seeing Darcy, she took advantage of a chance to get away from the conversation, asking "Darcy, do you need any help?"

"Oh, no. We almost have everything out now. You sit down and relax," Darcy replied with a smile as she headed back to the kitchen.

Heather started fumbling with the cloth napkin that was set at her plate biding her time until the food would arrive and she could eat and not worry about making conversation.

_Heather watched her father talk to someone on the phone in the kitchen as she played with the mashed potatoes on her plate and contemplating whether she had eaten enough for her father to believe that she had enjoyed the meal. In his excitement over Heather's visit home, he had decided to make dinner. The only problem was the man was good at many things, but cooking was not one of them. The instant potatoes were probably the worst of the things he made. Heather could choke down the half-cooked hamburger steak and the burnt green beans, but the chalky tasting instant potatoes were hard to swallow. Heather decided that one more bite of the potatoes would be enough to satisfy him and so she took a bite trying not to make a face. _

_Robert Lisinski hung up the phone, "Heather, there's a report of a robbery in progress a few blocks from here. I've got to go check on it."_

"_Okay, Daddy. I'll be alright," Heather replied trying to hide the secret relief that she wouldn't have to eat anymore of her father's meal. _

_Her father reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. He held out twenty dollars, "I know that the food sucked. Call and order some pizza."_

"_It wasn't that bad," Heather offered. _

"_I've tasted rotten MREs that were better," Robert Lisinski joked his blue eyes sparkling.. "Just throw away what's left and order that pizza. Hopefully, this is just a false alarm and I'll be back in half an hour. Maybe we can get a few licks in on that truck of yours tonight." _

"_That would be nice," she replied nodding in agreement. _

"_I'll see you later baby girl," Her father replied grabbing his gun belt and hat that hung on a hook by the back door. _

"_Bye, Daddy," She called after her father watching him walk out the door... _

It was Gray's voice that brought Heather back to the present. "So, when are we going to see that fuel that Beck promised?" he condescendingly asked Natalie.

"Mayor, I don't know what you're talking about," Natalie quietly answered shaking her head.

"Beck promised us fuel and other supplies in return for allowing that communications center into our town. So, when are we going to see it?" Gray insisted.

"Gray," Eric interrupted exasperation evident in his voice. "This is my wedding reception. Can't we talk about this later?"

"I would if I thought I would actually talk to someone about it. Eric, it's like Fort Knox over there," Gray complained. "So, when are we going to see it?"

Natalie took a deep breath as she uncomfortably shifted in her seat. "Mayor, if Major Beck promised you fuel and supplies, I'm sure you will get it," Natalie half-heartedly assured him.

"That's not good enough," Gray shot back. "You weren't here last winter when we nearly all starved and froze to death. You'd think with those connections of yours you could get us what we need yourself!"

Jake stepped in seeing that Bill and Jimmy were too startled or too scared to say something, "Gray, like my brother said, this is his wedding reception. We'll talk about this later," Jake said in a slightly menacing voice.

Gray held his hand up in defeat knowing that he was on rocky ground when both of the Greens set up against him. He eyed Natalie indicating that she'd have to deal with him later.

Natalie gave Jake a quick look of gratitude and leaned back in her chair obviously happy for the reprieve even if she knew it would be short lived.

"I guess I should congratulate you two. I heard you're having a boy," Bill said in an obvious attempt to make conversation that didn't have anything to do with their current situation.

"How do you know that already? I only found out a few hours ago!" Heather exclaimed.

"There are no secrets in this town. Don't you know that?" Bill laughed. "Jake made the mistake of telling Jimmy. Once Jimmy knows then it's pretty much a forgone conclusion that everyone is going to find out."

"Hey, no one told me it was a secret!" Jimmy defended.

Heather turned to Jake and found him gone. She looked around to see that he had left to talk to Hawkins. She rolled her eyes and took a deep breath trying to remember that she was in love with the man. She turned back to Bill "I'm surprised Jake would tell anyone," Heather said in exasperation. They hadn't really discussed keeping the whole thing to themselves and so Heather only had herself to blame.

"Jake, from what Jimmy relayed, is pretty darn excited about it. Don't be too hard on him," Bill urged. "So, I take it this poor kid's name is already pre-chosen? Johnston Jacob Green the third?"

"We haven't decided," Heather replied in a tone that suggested that she wasn't really in the mood to discuss it further. Heather sought revenge and broached what she thought could be an uncomfortable subject for Bill, "I guess I should congratulate you on your impending marriage."

"Thanks," Bill replied with a huge smile.

Heather tried to not show her disappointment over Bill's enthusiastic response. "So, Jake's advice worked?"

"No, not really. She saw through that stuff pretty quickly," Bill explained with a smirk. "I just put on the famous Kohler charm and that won her over," he explained giving Natalie a wink as he put his arm around Natalie's shoulders.

Natalie silently rolled her eyes at her brother.

Jimmy, who had overheard Heather and Bill's conversation, sarcastically, offered "Yeah, you're a real charmer." He gave his sister a knowing look.

Mimi wanted to find out about Natalie, "Stanley told me that you have a PhD."

"Yeah, I started going to school and sort of never stopped," Natalie replied with a bit of smile.

Mimi continued with her questions, "Stanley also told me you lived in DC, right?" Mimi asked as if she was cross examining the woman.

"Yeah," Natalie replied looking slightly amused at the other woman's questions.

"I use to live in DC. Where did you live?"

"I lived in Georgetown," Natalie replied.

"That's an expensive area. How did you afford it?"

Natalie stopped and looked like she was trying to decide how to answer. "I had a roommate and I was making pretty good money at the time," Natalie finally relayed.

"What made you decide to move back? I can't imagine anyone choosing Jericho after living in DC," Mimi complained. Emily and Mary shook their heads at Mimi's statement. Even after all this time, she still took every opportunity to complain about the town.

Once again Natalie didn't look like she was sure of what she wanted to say. "Washington and the lifestyle there wasn't for me. It was too crowded and too loud. People just didn't care about each other. Most of them, from my experience, were mostly concerned with themselves."

"So what made you decide to move to DC in the first place?" Heather asked.

"I thought I could make a difference and maybe save the world or something. I found out pretty quickly that I was really being naive," Natalie replied in disgust.

"Alright, so you didn't like DC, but why move back to Jericho? No offense, but there's nothing here," Mimi complained.

There were groans around the table again.

"Mimi, everyone knows the reason she came back was because Bill wouldn't leave," Emily interjected with a bit of disgust. It was obvious that she didn't understand the attraction.

"I didn't come back for Bill," Natalie corrected.

Bill gave her a miffed look.

"Sorry, baby. Let me correct that. I didn't come back just for Bill," Natalie offered trying to make Bill's fragile ego feel better.

Mimi turned to Bill, and incredulously asked, "Does this girl know you?" She pointed to Natalie.

"They've been together since like elementary school or something," Emily explained a bit of jealousy showing through her response.

Neither Bill nor Natalie bothered correcting Emily.

"Yeah, but if she knows him so well, why in the world would she want to be permanently attached to him?" Mimi sarcastically asked.

There were chuckles all around the table. Heather even saw Natalie laughing at the statement as she patted Bill on the back in consolation.

"I'm not that bad," Bill whined.

Jimmy felt the need to defend his future brother-in-law and best friend, and half-heartedly offered, "He's really not that bad."

Bill laughed at Jimmy's lukewarm defense, "Thanks man for sticking up for me."

"Anytime, bro. Anytime," Jimmy answered with a chuckle and a look to his sister.

By this time, Gail and the other two women were finished bringing in the various dishes that everyone had prepared. "Come on everyone, it's time to eat," Gail declared calling to Jake and Hawkins who were still at the bar chatting. They came to the table finding their empty seats as everyone began digging into the feast that had been prepared.

Everyone was too preoccupied with eating and talking to hear the front door of Bailey's open. Before Mary or anyone else could notice, the sounds of gunfire ripped through the air. They dove for cover as three men entered the bar shooting randomly around.

Ducked under a table, Heather felt for the gun she had on her. She then focused on Jake who looked to be getting ready to go after the gunmen. "What the hell are you doing?" Heather whispered angrily.

"We aren't going to make it if we don't start shooting back. They are coming this way," Jake whispered back. He was about to make his move when he was startled by the sound of yelling and the entrance of more footsteps into Bailey's. He stopped and looked to be reevaluating the situation as more shots rang out.

"Put the weapons down now!" a male voice could be heard shouting. Heather couldn't see the men's faces only their feet and did not see or hear the guns drop to the floor. Before she knew it, she heard two shots and two of the men drop where they stood. Heather worried that they would be next.

"Put the weapon down now!" a deep male voice yelled again.

"I don't think so," a familiar voice shot back. Heather recognized it as Constantino's. The man had nine lives or something. Just when you thought you'd gotten rid of him, he seemed to turn up. Before Heather could react, a strong arm had reached under the table, dragging her out and lifting her up. Without looking, she knew that it was Constantino and felt a gun to her back. "Let me go or the bitch get's it!" he yelled to the soldier.

Heather took a deep breath and tried not to panic. "Phil, you don't want to this," she pleaded.

"Hell, I've wanted to do this for the better part of the past year," Constantino coolly replied.

"Let the girl go," a familiar voice pleaded as Heather watched another man come from behind the soldier. Within a moment, she recognized him as her former fiancé, Mike Anderson. There was no trace of the clean-cut kid who used to wear kaki pants and button-up shirts; that Mike Anderson lived to be what his father expected.

This Mike Anderson looked like the antipathy of Gray Anderson. With his long blond hair and scraggily beard, he looked like should probably be a member of biker gang. He wore ripped jeans and black t-shirt with a couple of tattoos visible on his muscled arms. Only adding to his menacing appearance was the black flack jacket he wore over his clothes and the rifle he carried in his hands. His steel blue eyes were focused on Constantino and not her as he attempted to stare the man down.

"Who the hell are you?" Constantino yelled.

"I'm here to help you if you let me, but first you've got to let the girl go," he explained in an easy voice. He kept a hold of the rifle as if ready to fire at any moment.

"She's the reason, I'm here. So no," he replied nudging Heather in the back.

She looked around the room to see that, of the three original gunmen, only Constantino was left. She watched Jake emerge from the cover of the table. "Let her go Constantino. If you want revenge, get it against me."

"Sir, put your weapon down," the soldier next to Mike barked out to Jake who now had his own gun pointed at Constantino. Jake looked like he recognized the soldier, but maintained his same position.

"Why did you come back here? You could have crossed the border into ASA territory and you'd be free. Why's this chick so damn important to you?" Mike asked gesturing to the soldier next to him to back off from Jake.

"She's a traitor. She turned her back on her town, her people, and her family. If not for her…"

"If not for her, most of the people in this room would be dead," Jake yelled gun still pointed at Constantino. "Let her go, Constantino."

Ignoring Jake's outburst, Constantino went on, "I think it's time to just end this. I'm dead man anyway. You all will hang me or the ASA will. It doesn't matter. I figure if I'm going to go, I'm taking Heather with me."

"Let her go!" Jake yelled clearly frustrated that no one had taken him out yet.

Heather instinctively knew that this moment was it. This was when it was going to be decided whether she lived or died. "Would someone just take the shot!" she begged.

_Heather forced herself to focus while riding in the passenger seat of Phil Constantino's patrol car. They were headed to the same location her father had gone only thirty minutes before. After her father had left, Heather had worked to clean the kitchen and had placed an order for a pizza from their favorite restaurant. She'd been so excited by the prospect of the working on the truck with her father. When she'd gotten a knock on the door, she'd assumed that it was the pizza. The moment she saw Phil and the anguished look on his face, she knew something bad had happened._

_As they pulled up to the scene, Heather glanced around darkened parking lot. The only lights were from the various sheriff's cars, crime scene investigators, and emergency vehicles surrounding the small familiar grocery store. How many times she'd visited the store, she couldn't say, but she'd come here often to get a cool drink on a summer day or a snack afterschool. _

_As she looked around, she kept hoping she'd see her father taking control of the situation. Instead, everyone's face was somber with no one quite sure how to handle the situation. Constantino parked his patrol car two lots down and walked with Heather toward the area that was cordoned off with yellow police tape. The world slowed down as the scene came into view. A young deputy, who didn't know Heather, tried to stop her from coming through, but Phil Constantino took Heather by the hand and led her along. _

_It was only when she got past her father's police cruiser that she saw his lifeless body lying there on the cold pavement. His blood had pooled on the sidewalk beneath him as steam rose from his still warm corpse. Tears came as she realized her worst fears; her father was dead. Heather had never in her life felt as alone as she did at that moment. _

_It was Phil's hand that stroked her back in comfort as they both kneeled down next to her father, and as Heather began to sob, it was Phil who held her and told her she'd never be alone…_

Heather thought about Phil Constantino's promises to her on that day and realized he was right. She looked over at Jake Green and knew that she wasn't alone even as she faced death at the hand of a man who promised to take care of her in her father's absence. She also knew she had to live. She had this lovely, beautiful person growing inside her and he deserved a chance at life.

"You don't want to do this, Phil," Mike said in a tone of familiarity.

Constantino snidely smiled in recognition, "You're the ex-fiancé. I knew I knew you."

"You don't want to do this. Think about Robert Lisinski and the promises you made him," Mike reminded Constantino not taking his eyes off of him.

"I fulfilled my obligations to my friend. I can't help it that his daughter became such a treacherous bitch," Constantino coolly replied jabbing the gun into Heather's back.

Before Heather could think, a shot rang out. Heather felt something liquid splatter her as the gun at her back fell to the floor. As she quickly turned, she watched Constantino collapse; a bullet having blown through his head killing him instantly. Heather stared in stunned silence as Jake ran up to Heather gathering her in his arms ignoring the blood which splattered her back.

Pulling back, he asked, "Are you alright?" Jake searched her face as his own moved through a range of emotions. "For a moment there, I thought I lost you again." Jake still kept his hands on her shoulders looking her over to make sure she was okay.

"I'm okay. What happened? Who got to him?" Heather asked in total confusion about how she was still standing there breathing.

"I did," Hawkins casually answered as Heather noticed that he'd somehow gotten right behind Constantino without him noticing. "Anderson and Chavez over there did a great job distracting him. It gave me time to get into position."

Mike and the soldier that Heather didn't recognize came up to where Heather and Jake were.

"Jake, are you two okay?" Chavez asked.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Jake asked looking confused.

"We protect our own," he said with no emotion. He turned to Mike, "You see Doc?"

Mike yelled out, "Doc, are you in here?"

Thoughts of what had happened to the others in the initial gunfire flooded her and she worried about her friends and family. How many people were hurt? Did anyone die?

"I'm back here," Natalie's voice could be heard yelling.

Heather ran around to the back of the bar to find Natalie sitting on the ground her back leaned up against the back wall. Jimmy and Bill were trying to administer first aid to a gunshot wound to lower thigh. Heather watched Natalie's strained face as she tried to fight back tears from the pain. Margaret sat next to Natalie trying to sooth her as she would one of her children pushing her hair back from her face.

"Bill, take your belt off," Natalie ordered as she looked at her own leg taking note of the blood loss.

"What?" Bill asked in confusion as he started fumbling with his belt.

"I got it," Mike replied as he immediately worked to take the belt off he was wearing. He dropped to the ground where Natalie was sitting. "Doc, what the hell happened?" Mike asked as he quickly pushed Bill and Jimmy out of the way as he worked to tie the belt around her wounded leg having it act as a tourniquet.

"Ow!" Natalie complained. "You need to cut off the circulation, not cut my leg off!"

"It's got to be tight. Other than the leg, do you have any other injuries?"

"Nah," Natalie replied closing her eyes as she tried to fight back another wave of pain. She opened her eyes and looked at Mike who was wearing a worried look on his face. Putting a hand to his face, she urged, "Don't worry."

"Fat chance of that happening," Mike replied with a smile. "I leave you alone for a few days and look what happens to you."

"What are you two doing here?" Natalie whispered looking up at Chavez.

"We came to save you," Mike replied with a half-smile.

"Yeah, you guys are little late," Bill sarcastically replied frustration evident in his face and voice. He moved closer to his fiancé. Looking at Natalie, who was starting to squirm from the pain, he asked, "Nat, are you okay?"

"Bill, I've been shot in the leg. How the hell do you think I am?" Natalie growled out.

"Can we have some help over here!?" Stanley yelled from a few feet away.

"Bill, can you two handle this?" Heather asked as she turned her attention to Stanley.

"We got it Heather," Jimmy replied as kept applying pressure to the wound.

Heather headed over to where Stanley, Mimi, and Emily were working on Gray Anderson. Gray had been hit in the chest and was bleeding profusely.

"I keep applying pressure, but I can't get the bleeding to stop!" Stanley complained as his bloody hands pressed a shirt of some sort on the wound.

Heather came down next to Gray who was still awake, but in shock as blood started oozing out of his mouth. "Has someone called an ambulance?" Heather yelled out realizing that they weren't going to be able to do anything for him as she took over from Stanley applying pressure to the profusely bleeding wound.

Robert Hawkins answered, "Yes. They are on their way." Hawkins came around to see what was happening. Heather watched Hawkins head over to where Natalie was. He quietly whispered something to Mike. Mike immediately got up and came over to where Gray was laying.

"Dad, my God!" Mike declared as he fell to his knees next to his father taking his father's limp hand. He closed his eyes.

"Mikey," Gray weakly replied as he grimaced in pain.

"Dad, don't talk," Mike urged opening his eyes.

"Mike, I'm…sorry," he quietly said pain etched in his face. He struggled for every breath now as began to drown in his own blood. "I…never…thought…I'd see you again."

"Dad, I'm sorry too," Mike said squeezing his father's hand. Heather watched as Gray gasped for a breath and went limp.

"He's dead," Stanley solemnly declared as he felt for a pulse. Mimi and Emily began to cry as they embraced each other.

"I'm so sorry Mike," Heather said resting her blood covered hand on Mike's broad shoulder. She fought back her own tears.

Mike nodded as he began to silently weep. He kept his hold on his father's hand.

Heather was at a loss for what to do for Mike who seemed more like a stranger than the man she'd been engaged to. Feeling the awkwardness of not knowing what to do, especially in light of how things stood between her and Mike, she went to search out Jake. She found Jake, Mary and Gail all working on Eric who had also been hit by the gunfire.

"Jake is he going to be okay?" Heather asked watching Jake finish tying a tourniquet around Eric's leg.

"Yeah, who else is hurt?" Jake asked letting Mary and his mother take over the wounds to Eric's arm and leg. Jake looked at Heather who was now covered in the blood of Constantino and Gray.

It was sort of odd to Heather that the two men who had led their two towns in war with each other both died on the same day within minutes of each other. While both had prized themselves as astute leaders, neither ended up being what their towns needed. Gray being too conservative would have handed over most of Jericho if left to his own devises. Constantino would have waged war on most of western Kansas, if the military and Jericho hadn't stood in his way. Now, these two men were dead and for what, some man's revenge?

As much as Heather had disliked Gray, she was still filled with sorrow over his death. No one deserves to die that way. It was hard to put into words what Gray's fate was. "Gray's dead," finally Heather solemnly replied. She grabbed a napkin off a nearby table and started wiping her bloody hands.

Jake was silent for a moment as he allowed the news to sink in. "Oh, God, anyone else?" Jake finally asked fear and anguish in his voice.

"Natalie's wounded," Heather replied.

Chavez and Hawkins came up to Jake as the other men who had come with them wondered about seeing if there was anything they could do.

"What the hell happened?" Jake asked looking at Chavez.

"The convoy that was escorting him to the camp was ambushed by a group of men. They helped him escape. We knew he would either head back here or head west," Chavez explained.

"What are you doing here?" Jake asked looking at Chavez. Heather had heard him ask the question only a few minutes before. It was obvious that Jake didn't buy his original answer.

"We came to protect our own," Chavez replied in a serious tone. "Natalie's name was attached to the arrest report as the witness. We figured he might come here and want to eliminate her."

"What do you mean by protect your own?" Heather asked with concern.

"What I mean," Chavez said looking at Hawkins, "is we're a family and we take care of each other." Chavez turned his head and watched the paramedics make there way into the bar. As he turned to head back to where the paramedics were about to move Natalie, he added, "We can talk about all this later."

Jake gave Hawkins a look wanting an explanation as Chavez left them hanging. Hawkins nodded his head acknowledging him. Instantly, Heather knew that Jake's instincts had been right. There was more to this situation with Natalie than anyone had let on. Jake and Hawkins seemed to both know Chavez and Hawkins knows Mike which just added to the mystery. Heather pushed the questions that were overwhelming her to the back of her mind as she focused on the scene around her.

Bailey's bar which had been a safe haven over the past year from the crazy, tumultuous world outside had been marred by the violence that had plagued the rest of the town. In this moment, Heather knew that no where was safe. Constantino maybe dead, but the danger was still growing. What had her father always told her, "Better the devil you know then the one you don't?" What would happen next was anyone's guess.


	16. Chapter 15

It's Not Over: Chapter 15

Rating: PG-13 (Adult Language and Situations).

Disclaimer: The name "Jericho" and all character names and trademarks associated with the television program are the intellectual property of Junction Entertainment, Fixed Mark Productions, CBS Paramount Television and/or CBS Studios, Inc. The following story is intended solely as an intellectual exercise without profit motive. No infringement of copyright is intended or should be implied.

Notes: When we left our intrepid characters, Phil Constantino had crashed Eric and Mary's wedding, shooting Eric, Gray, and Natalie (Bill's fiancée). Chavez and Mike Anderson (Note: Mike is Gray's son and Heather's ex-boyfriend.) came in to try to save the day. With their help, Hawkins is able to take Constantino out saving Heather from Constantino's clutches. Gray dies and now they must deal with the aftermath…

Another note: As always, feedback is appreciated. Thanks to Jordanmr for the feedback!

____________________________________________________________________________________

Jake sat on the cold concrete stairs in front of Jericho Medical Center staring out onto the quiet darkened street. He silently reflected on all that had happened and wondered how much more he and the town he'd grown to love could take. It seemed that every time they were getting back onto their feet something or someone came along to screw it up. It seemed like everyday presented a new challenge. They'd managed to survive thus far by the skin of their teeth, but he wasn't sure how much longer they could go on like this.

If you had asked him earlier that day, the last place he would have thought he would have finished the evening was here. He'd spent the morning getting the chance to see the son that until a few days ago he did not even know was coming. The emotions that it brought on were more than he could deal with at the time. He was excited by the prospect of having a son, but at the same time scared shitless. A little over a year ago he was barely keeping himself alive; now he was supposed to help raise a child. God help him.

Then there was Eric and Mary's wedding. He'd been having a good time catching up with his friends and family after his long absence. It had been nice seeing everyone happy and at ease for once after all they'd been through. For a short time he'd almost forgotten that a war was going on.

He knew that part of that ease they felt came from being informed that Constantino was supposed to be going away for good. He had to give it to Heather. She knew better than anyone that he wasn't done yet. He couldn't even fathom what was going through that man's mind. All the pain, suffering, and death that Constantino alone caused would never be accounted for. It made Jake sick inside.

Watching Heather be held at gunpoint almost broke him today. He'd lost so many people over the past year that he'd loved; he wasn't sure he could take one more death. What made it worse was that he was just beginning to feel like he had a partner. Sure, Emily had been right there by his side growing up, getting into every scrape and scuffle along with him, but he didn't need a partner in crime. He needed someone who could tell him when he was going too far and who made up for things he lacked. He and Heather seemed to fit together.

He heard the squeak as the door opened behind him. He turned to see who was leaving. Jake watched his mother walk out, wearing one of her concerned mother looks. She didn't even look tired. It was amazing. His mother's strength was overwhelming. Many women would have fallen apart after everything that had happened to her over this past year. He had thought that the loss of his father would finally break her spirit, but somehow she managed to pull through.

"Cold out here isn't it?" Gail commented as she rubbed her hands together. She sat down on the cold step next to Jake as she patted his back.

"Yeah, I think its going to be another early winter this year," Jake replied giving his mother a half smile. "How's Eric?"

"He just came out of surgery and is doing fine," Gail answered relief evident in her voice. "Mary's in with him now. I figured they needed some time alone after all of this."

"Where's Heather?" Jake asked with concern. When he'd come out here a half hour before Heather had been visibly fighting sleep as she sat in one of the chairs in the waiting room listening to Jimmy and Bill banter back and forth. He'd thought about dragging her out here with him, but he felt like he needed some time alone.

"I told her she should go home, but she said she needed to be here with you. We compromised and so she's passed out on a bunk in Kenchy's office."

"Good, I'm glad she's getting some rest."

"You've been out here for quite awhile," Gail commented concern evident in her voice. Quiet fell between them as Gail waited for Jake to open up about what was troubling him.

"Mom, how did things get so messed up?"

Gail took a deep breath as she thought about how to answer him. "I don't know. I wish I had a good answer for why things are they way they are, but unfortunately life doesn't give us easy answers."

"None of those three deserved it today. Natalie wasn't even here when the whole New Bern thing began. All she did was show up for a wedding. And Gray; he could be an SOB, but I don't think he deserved to die that way. And Eric; it was his wedding day. Doesn't he deserve at least one happy day?"

"Jake, I don't think this is going to come as a big surprise. Most of the time, we don't get what we deserve; we get what we get. Life just doesn't work the way we like. If it did, your father and April would still be here. I'd be raving about my trip to Paris to everyone. I'd have a beautiful grandchild in my arms."

Jake went quiet for a moment as he let he mother's words sink in. "It seems so unfair. Heather was held at gunpoint by her own Godfather. Who the hell does that to someone whom you promised to protect?"

"People do stupid, irrational things when they feel they've been shoved into a corner. Constantino was a man who knew that the jig was up. In any case, I don't think he really wanted to hurt Heather. If he did, he would have shot her right away. He was looking for something from her. As to what that was, I don't know and I'm not sure we'll ever know."

Once again Jake fell quiet. Finally, what was really bothering him came to the forefront, "Mom, how are we going to get through?"

"We do what we always do. We keep moving forward even when we don't think we can," Gail replied putting her arm around Jake. "It's been one tough year for all of us and what's coming maybe even tougher, but I hope your father and I have raised you boys to be resilient enough to make it."

Jake fell quiet as his mind raced through the list of things that were going to need to be taken care of. "What do you think we should do about Gray and who the hell are we going to get to be mayor?" Jake asked realizing that he needed to start focusing on the practical.

"Mike's here. I think it should be his decision as to how his father is buried. People will accept whatever he wants. We've had so many deaths recently, I'm not sure anyone's going to be too appalled if we don't have a state funeral," Gail answered matter-of-factly.

"What about replacing Gray?" Jake asked.

Gail stopped for a moment trying to think about an answer to that question. "I'm not the one you should be asking. I suggest you talk to Eric in the morning and see what he thinks. I'm sure that the two of you can come up with an answer."

Jake closed his eyes and rubbed his face feeling the stubble brush against his calloused hands. It was times like this he wished he was still eight years old and that his mother held all the answers.

Looking at the haggard appearance of her son, Gail suggested, "Why don't you come inside and say goodnight to your brother. Then take Heather home. You're going to have a long day tomorrow and it will be here before you know it."

"What about you?"

"I'm going to stay here," Gail replied standing up. "Kenchy's low on staff and I want to make sure Eric is taken care of. You both may be grown men, but you're still my babies."

"Don't work too hard," Jake warned with concern in his voice.

As they both walked in side, Gail stopped him for a moment, "You know your father would be very proud of you right now. I know I am."

"Thanks, Mom," Jake answered giving his mother a hug.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Mike Anderson sat watching his best friend in the world slowly wake from a drug induced sleep. Natalie's face went from peaceful to grimace as the reality of what she went through came to the surface. Mike hated that she was in pain and fought back the anger he had at himself that they hadn't gotten there in time to protect her.

He was thankful that Natalie wasn't hurt as badly as he had initially feared. He'd seen men and women he'd claimed as friends have their bodies shattered by bullets. When he'd seen the wound and blood initially, he feared that she'd bleed to death. Luckily, Natalie's surgery had been rather quick. The bullet had only gone into the soft tissue causing minimal damage to her leg and avoiding the major arteries.

He was also thankful that Heather had managed to come out of the whole thing alive. As to her mental state, he didn't know. He couldn't believe that Phil Constantino could do something like that. When he'd last seen him at a Super Bowl party prior to the bombs, he'd been giving Mike the fifth degree about protecting Heather and doing right by her. Today, that same man, who'd sworn to protect her, had nearly killed her.

As Mike had watched Heather be held at gunpoint, it had taken everything in him to keep from taking the shot himself. It was only going through the past year that had allowed him to keep his emotions in check. He wondered what was going through Heather's mind right now and whether she was okay. He had been tempted to find her once the initial shock of losing his father had passed, but he knew deep down inside that leaving her alone would be best. He wasn't ever particularly good at showing empathy; a fault he shared with his father. And in the end, she had plenty of people around her. She didn't need him anymore.

With no other "family" left but the woman before him, Mike sat watching trying to decide why he was there. He told himself he was here because he wanted to comfort Natalie, but in reality he knew he was the one who needed her. He needed her reassurances that he was going to be okay. That the loss of his father wouldn't irreparably change him into someone he wouldn't recognize. He needed to know that she was still the same Natalie who'd left for Jericho just a few days ago and that even though she belonged to another man that she still had room in her life for him. Most of all he needed to know that someone still wanted him around.

Natalie rubbed her eyes feeling the tug of the I.V line in her hand. She resisted the temptation to rub her aching leg which was slightly elevated using a couple of pillows. She'd been in and out of consciousness since leaving the bar. Unfortunately, she'd been awake while the doctor had gone about removing the bullet from her leg. It had been her fault; she'd volunteered to forgo anesthesia. While the doctor had used a local anesthetic, it only minimized the pain enough to keep her from screaming her head off and scaring her family. Bill had patiently held her hand through the whole thing.

She knew someone was in the room with her. She'd assumed it was Bill who promised to stick around even though she'd told him to go home and get some rest. Natalie knew it had to be pretty late at night. She hoped that her family and friends had listened to her and had gone home to get some sleep. Finally, she opened her eyes and focused on the lone man in the room. "Mike, why are you here?" she groggily asked.

"Where else would I be?" Mike replied.

"Where's everyone else?"

"If you are talking about your brother and your boyfriend, they are down the hall talking to Jake Green about something or other. Chavez and the rest of the guys went back to the school once they knew you were going to be okay. Do you need anything?"

Natalie shook her head. She was glad that at least the guys had left.

"How's do you feel?"

"I don't know," Natalie replied honestly. At the moment, it was hard for her to gauge how she was feeling. On one hand, she was thankful that she was still alive. On the other hand, her leg was beginning to hurt so bad she almost wished someone would cut it off.

"I'm sorry we didn't get there in time to stop the whole thing. I should have come with you to Jericho right away. My cowardice almost cost you your life twice," Mike said remembering that she'd been kidnapped only a day or two before.

"This isn't your fault. You know between you and Bill, I've had it up to here with people trying to protect me or thinking they've somehow let me down because things have happened to me. Sometimes no matter how carefully we try to control things, fate has a different plan."

"I don't know what I would have done if I'd lost you today," Mike declared; his voice full of emotion. Losing both Natalie and his father today would have broken him completely. He watched as Natalie tried to reposition herself on the bed and saw the pain on her face. "Are you sure you're okay?"

She looked at Mike, remembering the first time they'd met each other in Texas. It seemed like a lifetime ago. They'd been through so much together that she could see what others would miss. Natalie saw the pain in eyes and knew it was from losing his father. She didn't know what to say. "I'm just tired," Natalie lied.

"I'm sorry if I woke you up," Mike offered worried that his presence had done something to disturb her.

"No, you didn't wake me up. The throbbing in my leg did," Natalie assured him.

"Are you sure you don't me to hunt down some pain meds for you?"

"That's okay. The nurse should be back here soon to check on me anyway," Natalie replied. She knew she had to say something about Gray Anderson's death. After a moment she offered, "I'm sorry about your dad."

"It's not your fault," Mike assured her.

"I know, but I still feel bad for you."

"How do you do it?" Mike asked tears coming to his eyes.

"Do what, sweetie?" Natalie asked in return grabbing Mike's hand in hers.

"How do you get over losing a father?"

Natalie wasn't sure how to answer him. She, as of yet, had not had to face the loss of either of her parents. They'd made it through the bombs and the aftermath; living in a retirement community in North Florida. She'd made contact with them just that morning giving Jimmy the chance to speak with them. It made her feel guilty knowing that Mike had lost his father without ever getting to say what he wanted to while she still managed to have hers alive and well. "Mike, I don't have a good answer for that. I do feel bad for you in the way things ended. You never got a chance to say what you wanted to him," Natalie explained.

Mike wiped his eyes of the tears that had developed. He silently thought about what he would have told his father if he'd had the chance to talk to him, but it was always a confused mess. Part of the reason he hadn't come with Natalie right away was because he still, after a year and half, didn't know what to say.

Watching her friend fight back the pain, Natalie still felt awful for him. "I wish I had some great words of wisdom. The only thing I know is that we rarely get to say what we really want to say when we want to say it."

"Even though, I wish I'd had a chance to talk with him, I'm not sure that if we actually hashed out everything and said what we wanted to say to each other that it would have made either of us happy."

"It still sucks for you," Natalie replied.

"Yeah, well like I said, if we'd had the chance to talk it out, we'd probably have ended up hating each other even more."

"I don't think you're father hated you," Natalie countered.

"I don't know. He thought his dreams should be my dreams. My father never understood why I had to leave. He wanted to groom me to take over the mine, but business was never my thing," Mike explained.

"So, working as a roughneck was your thing?" Natalie asked knowing that Mike was capable of so much more than what he claimed.

"I wasn't a roughneck; I was a geologist," Mike corrected. "And, yeah, working out there was good. Making my own way in the world was what I wanted. I was tried of people looking at me like I had everything handed to me on silver platter. My father never understood that. He thought I should just be grateful that I was going to inherit half the mine some day.

Maybe all this is a blessing in disguise. I'm not going to second guess why things happened the way they did," Mike explained pulling himself together once again. He knew this day would haunt him, but he also knew that he had to move on. One day, he'd take the time to properly mourn his relationship with his father, but right now he needed to deal with the here and now.

"I'm sorry that your father never got the chance to get to know the man before me. You saved me so many times. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you," Natalie offered.

"You saved my ass as many times as I saved yours."

"That's arguable," Natalie countered.

"Well, in any case, we make a good team," Mike replied with a forced smile. Feeling at least a bit at peace about things, he turned to one his more immediate concerns, "Speaking of team, what do you think about what Hawkins and Chavez are planning to do?"

"I have my reservations. I'm all for doing our part to make things right and get this war won with the fewest casualties, but what they are doing doesn't sit well with me."

"Me neither," Mike replied. "So what do we do?"

"Right now, we do what we agreed to do. I'm going to keep acting as their cover and helping them gather information. You keep working as my personal security. We keep our distance from the actual stuff and if it crosses the line into territory we don't agree with, we walk. We don't need them; they need us."

"What about Chavez? I can't believe he'd be a part of this," Mike replied.

"Chris is a CIA agent. All that stuff that keeps us up at night has been trained out of him. He does what he's told, but I know for fact that there is a point where he won't follow orders. My continuing existence is proof of that."

"That's cold comfort," Mike replied.

"Hey, aren't you the one who's always saying we've got have faith," Natalie replied.

"Yeah, I am."

"We just got have faith that it will work out," Natalie offered. "Now, how about you go hunt me down some pain killers?"

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Beck wondered corridor of the high school. He was sure that he could probably be doing something meaningful, but at the moment, he was happy doing absolutely nothing. For a man whose whole life had been one of action, his current existence was troubling.

In the course of the day, he had figured out that this communications center was not what it seemed and no one working there even bothered to keep up the pretense in front of him. He wondered whether it was because (1) he was about to be let in on exactly what they were really doing there or (2) he was about to be eliminated.

In his own honest refection, his own demise wouldn't be that bad. What did he have left? His family was more than likely dead. His military career was over with his men having been assigned to some other commander. He had no friends left. What did he really have to live for? The only reason he has kept going up to this point was out of a sense of duty and some desire to make things right.

He knew that this group was working outside of official channels. He had been told he was in charge of this communications center, but no one ever looked to him for an order. When he tried to give an order, they would pay lip service to him but go their own way. He knew they were taking their orders from someone else. The question was who. If he was brought into the loop, what was he going to do? He knew it depended on exactly what they were doing. If it was something he didn't agree with, he'd walk away. He also knew how deadly serious it all was and that he wouldn't be allowed to.

Either way, Beck knew he was dead. Surprisingly, as he made his way down to the room that held the ultimate answer, he was at peace. He'd never been suicidal, but when you've got nothing to lose, you might as well move forward.

He silently prayed before he knocked on the door that if he was about to be killed that it be quick and that he be forgiven for all that he done.

"Come in," a voice called from within.

As he entered the room, he quickly glanced around taking inventory of who was there. On a chair, Robert Hawkins sat giving Beck an emotionless look. At the opposite side standing near a window, stood a familiar face. "Parker," Beck said as his eyes rested on the man. "Well, that's not true. That's not your name."

Chavez gave Beck a cocky smile and replied, "No. It isn't. I guess I should formally introduce myself. I'm Chris Chavez."

"I wish I could say nice to meet you, but you killed four of my men in your escape."

"It was unfortunate, but necessary. At the time, if you remember, you were working for the enemy," Chavez replied a sly smile still on his face.

"You could have told me what was going on," Beck countered his voice and face steeled.

"Would you both just stop it," Hawkins interjected. "Beck, you were responsible for just as many deaths if not more. No one is innocent here."

"What's going on?"

"That's the million dollar question isn't it?" Chavez coolly asked.

"Beck, I know you weren't given a choice when you were sent here to work," Hawkins offered. He gave Chavez a look of acknowledgment telling him what he was about to do, "So, I'm going to give you a way out. You don't want to hear anymore, you can leave. If you go to Dodge City, they'll process the paperwork and you go home. If you want to hear us out, well then you're stuck with us. What will it be?"

"Tell me," Beck answered without hesitation.

Hawkins rubbed his face trying to clear his head. "This whole thing starts with the day of the bombs. You know that I was working deep undercover to try to take down the 'terrorist cell."

"Yes, I'm aware of that," Beck replied having learned all of that from reading the contents of Hawkins' computer.

"Chavez was also part of the same operation."

"So, what are you two up to? And what is this communications center really here for?"

"We're part of a new operation to take out those who planned the attacks. For the most part, these are quick in and out operations. We find our target, take it out, and get out as quickly as possible," Hawkins answered.

Beck's head swam as he thought about the implications of what Hawkins was doing. He knew the CIA had been doing these kinds of operations for years, but had never been part of one. "The plan is to assassinate all of those in charge of planning the attacks, right? Why?"

"There are those in the current administration who do not believe that a straight out war with Cheyenne is going to be successful. The hope is that if we can take out the planners of the attacks that when a settlement has to be negotiated that the less militant portions of the ASA government will more reasonable."

"So, somebody decided to hedge their bets."

"Yes," Hawkins replied.

"How do I fit into the plan?"

"We need someone who can help dig through the data and who can play interrogator if need be. We have people on the inside who are funneling information to us and several of the men working with us were computer hackers before the bombs. I have the names and locations for most of the planners, but there are a few that we are still working on determining their names and locations. The top priority is to find a guy I only know as 'John Smith.' He is the true mastermind of this whole thing."

"Then what's the communications center?" Beck asked with concern.

"The communications center is our cover. As far as everyone outside is concerned, we are running a weather station and Natalie is the chief meteorologist," Chavez explained.

"So, Natalie is part of your cover? Does she know what's going on?"

"Yes and yes," Chavez replied. "She'll be helping you mine the data when she's got the time."

"So, what do you say? Want to help us win the war?" Hawkins asked.

"Do I have any choice?" Beck asked.

"No," Hawkins honestly replied.

Beck thought immediately of Jake Green and wondered about his involvement. "Jake was your partner in crime. Does he know anything about this?"

"Not yet," Hawkins replied, "But I think its time to bring him in."

"He's a man with a lot to lose. He has a beautiful girlfriend and a baby on the way. He get's involved in this and it could put the people he loves the most into jeopardy."

"I know, but he's already suspicious. We have to at least tell him," Chavez warned.

"Well, if you're going to tell him, I suggest you do it soon," Beck warned.

"That's the plan," Hawkins assured him.

TBC


	17. Chapter 16

It's Not Over: Chapter 16

Rating: PG-13 (Adult Language and Situations).

Disclaimer: The name "Jericho" and all character names and trademarks associated with the television program are the intellectual property of Junction Entertainment, Fixed Mark Productions, CBS Paramount Television and/or CBS Studios, Inc. The following story is intended solely as an intellectual exercise without profit motive. No infringement of copyright is intended or should be implied.

Notes: As always, feedback is appreciated. Thanks to Jordanmr for the feedback!  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jake sat at the sparse wooden table of his Grandfather's old hunting cabin waiting for Robert Hawkins to get here to begin explaining what the hell was happening. Between Chavez and Mike Anderson showing up and the whole Constantino fiasco, things were not making sense. On the way home from Texas, Hawkins had given Jake every indication, including verbally telling him, that he was hanging up his role as a CIA agent. He claimed to be tired of the chase, of the constant lies to his family, and the danger he'd put them in. Jake wondered what had happened to change Hawkins' mind.

Hawkins didn't bother knocking and came in the door. "Hey Jake. Thanks for coming."

"No problem," Jake replied. "Why are we meeting way out here?"

"Because what I am about to tell you isn't for public consumption and I don't want anyone connecting you to the operation."

Jake took a deep breath as he studied the always cool and collected Robert Hawkins. In exasperation, Jake asked, "What the hell's going on Hawkins? I thought you were done with this shit."

"Men like me always say we're done, but in reality we're just taking a break. The pull of what I do is hard to walk away from."

"What does Darcy have to say about all this?" Jake asked with a smirk.

"She's okay as long as she's in on things and I've told her everything I'm about to tell you," Hawkins replied with a smile of understanding. "Look Jake, I need you to try to keep what I'm about to tell you to yourself. The more people who know about this, the more likely we are going to start having leaks and the mission is going to fail. Anyone who knows what's going on is potentially in danger."

Jake knew that meant he wasn't going to be able to tell Heather or Eric. He took a breath as he tried to control his frustration. Jake was tired of lies and of having to hide half his life. Now he was going to be at it again. "Just tell me," Jake spurted out in exasperation.

Hawkins explained the details of the operation which was mostly to take out those within the ASA government who helped plan the attacks. As Hawkins went on, he could tell pretty quickly he was losing Jake.

"Hawkins, are you sure that this is a good idea?" Jake asked after Hawkins had relayed the entire plan to Jake. "It seems pretty close to crossing the line into murder."

"No, what we're talking about is making the playing field even. Do you want those people to get away with what they've done?" Hawkins argued.

Jake sat quite for a moment with his head in his hands thinking about how to respond to what Hawkins was talking about. He was headed down that slippery slope again. Helping Hawkins with the bomb was a no-brainer. Helping murder people, mind you bad people, was crossing into territory that he doubted that his father would approve. "Hawkins, I don't want them to get away with any of it, but at the same time, I think we lose the moral high ground when we start down this road."

"Civilians," Hawkins complained as he stared out the window of the cabin.

"So, is everyone at the communications center involved in this?" Jake asked knowing it was fruitless to argue with the man before him.

"To varying degrees," Hawkins replied. "I don't need your direct involvement. I've got plenty of guys to do the undercover work. I just need your help to smooth things over locally."

"You already knew Natalie didn't you?" Jake asked realizing he'd been duped at the beginning.

"Yeah…she was Chavez's inside in the Texas government. If it wasn't for her, we'd never have gotten through the gates of the Texas Embassy in Cheyenne or gotten that airplane to Texas."

"How does she know Chavez?"

Hawkins smiled, "they dated a few years ago."

Jake shook his head, "There's a couple I didn't see. I wonder if Bill knows about that."

"Well, for her sake, I'd probably keep the information to yourself," Hawkins replied having gotten to know the deputy.

"Don't worry…I won't tell anyone anything you've told me," Jake assured him. _Hell, I don't even want to know what they're doing, _Jake thought to himself_. _He started wondering what exactly Hawkins wanted him to do."So, what do you mean by smoothing over things?"

Hawkins grinned, "I need you to get my newest operative out of the holding cell of the Jericho Sheriff's department."

"Who? I didn't hear about anyone being arrested."

"He was arrested this morning at a check point. His name is Roger Hammond. I think you might remember him."

It took everything in Jake's power to keep him from dropping his jaw to the floor. "Roger Hammond…wow I did not see that one coming."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Natalie sat outside the high school on one of the stone benches that surrounded the circular drive that use to be used for student pick-up and drop-off when students still came to school. The cold November breeze that cut through her coat felt good. She'd been stuffed in an empty classroom for too long writing seemingly meaningless reports. It didn't help that the pain meds she took to take the edge off gave her headache and made the work even more tedious.

She looked behind her as she heard the sound of footsteps. She automatically smiled as she watched Chris Chavez smoothly saunter up to where she was sitting. It had been a long time since she'd spoken to Chris for any more than a quick "Hi" or "Bye." Natalie was surprised to see him head right for her. She was pretty sure he was avoiding her and she had a pretty good idea why.

Her relationship with Chris Chavez was a complicated mess filled with lies, mistrust, and an insane connection that never seemed to be severed. If the world had worked the way it was supposed to, when she'd said goodbye to him almost five years before it would have been the last she'd seen of him. However, the world they lived in wouldn't let the connection die and somehow kept bringing them back together. Neither of them was sure how to handle it.

"Hey, Doc," Chris said as sat down next to Natalie. If he was at all nervous about talking to her, it didn't show.

"I hate it when you call me that," Natalie complained.

"I know," he replied with a smirk.

Natalie shook her head. "So, what is it exactly that you want?" she asked as she started fumbling with her crutches.

"Who says I need something?" Chavez asked in return with a grin.

"Well up to now you've been avoiding me. So I am assuming the only reason you'd seek me out is if you needed something."

"I'm not avoiding you," he defended.

"Yeah, right. So, why didn't you come to check on me when I was bleeding to death on the floor or to check on me in the hospital?"

"Don't be so melodramatic," Chris complained. "You weren't bleeding to death and it seemed you had more than enough people worrying over you as it was."

"It doesn't mean it wouldn't have been nice to have known that you care," Natalie explained.

"I cared enough to stay away," Chris replied.

Natalie gave him a small smile.

"Okay, so I am avoiding you," he finally admitted knowing he'd been caught.

"Why?"

"You made your choice. Why should I have to stick around and see how it plays out?" Chavez replied.

"I appreciate your point of view, but at the same time I miss you," Natalie replied not believing that she was actually admitting it.

"So, things not working out as well as you hoped with Deputy Bill?" Chavez mischievously asked.

"Would you not call him that!?" Natalie hissed.

"Is he not doing it for you any more? You know once you've had the 'Chavez' everything else is spam in comparison."

Natalie rolled her eyes. "You are awful," she complained.

"No I'm not," Chavez countered. "You spent the past year dreaming about being here, but I bet you're finding out that it wasn't all it cracked up to be."

"It's different. Maybe it's that I got shot or kidnapped, but things aren't the same."

"Did you expect to come home and find the people and the place untouched by the bombs?"

"No…it's just..."

"Look, Natalie, you say the word, we'll leave and find that island we were always talking about, drink Mai Tais and have lots of nasty beach sex."

"No thanks," Natalie replied with a smile. "I know you. You wouldn't be happy lying on some beach."

"With you I could be happy," he countered.

"For awhile, but then someone's going to come calling, telling you that you need to try to save the world again," Natalie replied dredging up the memories of a day years before of a marriage proposal and the fight that later ensued as Natalie told him the only way she'd marry him was if he quit the CIA. Needless to say, they'd broken up each going their own way. Natalie returned home to the familiar, to Bill. Chavez went back to the lonely life of an undercover CIA agent. Going on, she complained, "I'm not exciting enough for you. I'm boring."

"You're not boring," Chris corrected. He took her hand into his.

"Oh, yes I am," Natalie replied snatching her hand away. "It would never work between the two of us. You're like 'Space Mountain,' an exciting thrill ride that is fun to go on once or twice, but if you go on it too many times you end up dizzy and sick."

"What's Deputy Bill; 'It's a Small World' or something?" Chavez jokingly asked.

"Actually, yeah he is," Natalie admitted. "It can be really annoying at times. I mean those singing dolls and that song, but in the end it's not going to kill you to keep riding it. It might not be the most exciting ride in the world, but it's familiar and comforting. Eventually if you stay on it enough times, you find yourself singing along."

"You're nuts," Chavez laughed.

"I know," Natalie admitted with a laugh. It felt good to laugh.

"Admit it, 'Space Mountain' is more fun," Chavez urged Natalie as he watched her laugh.

"I admit nothing," Natalie replied giving him a big smile. Changing subjects she asked in confidential tone, "So, what's the real reason you came to find me?"

"Alright you got me," Chavez replied with smirk. "I've got a favor to ask. Roger Hammond is currently sitting in a holding cell down at the Sheriff's station. Would you mind talking to your brother and fiancé and see if you can convince them to let him out?"

"What's Roger doing here? I thought he was down in Dodge City."

"He showed up early this morning to meet with Hawkins and me. He's going to be our inside guy on the next job."

"I thought you guys were through bringing people in."

"Word has gotten out and every one of us, including you, is on a watch list for the ASA. We need someone unrecognizable to get in on the inside who knows the lingo of the financial world. We're going after one of the big fish, Valente."

"And you want me to get Roger out?" Natalie asked cringing inside.

"Yeah."

"You know this is never going to work. They aren't going to let him go because I asked them to."

"They might. I would," Chavez replied with a smile and wink.

Natalie shook her head in disgust. "This is going to be a freaking disaster. I know it," Natalie complained.

"Keep up that positive attitude," Chavez sarcastically replied. "Think of it as the ultimate test of the loyalties of your family."

"I don't have a litmus test for my family."

"Look, just go talk to them. Hopefully Hawkins and Jake will be back soon and Jake will get him freed if you can't convince them."

"Can't we wait for Jake?"

"I need to start getting him up to speed now if he's going to be ready to leave in three days and I'm not sure when they'll be back. Also, there's no guarantee that Jake's going to go along with this mission. You civilians are notoriously fickle," Chavez complained.

Natalie knew that comment was directed more at her than at Jake Green. She consciously decided to ignore the intimation and focus on what Chavez wanted her to do. "Great, just great," Natalie complained. Using her crutches, she pulled herself off the stone bench she was sitting on. "I'd better get going then."

"You want a ride?" Chavez asked watching Natalie slowly gain speed with her crutches.

"It's only a couple of blocks from here. I need the time to talk myself into this," Natalie grumbled.

Chavez pretended to ignore Natalie's last statement and started heading back inside. He stopped about half way there and turned back to watch Natalie make her way down the drive. He yelled, "Have fun, Doc."

Natalie turned and gave him the middle finger.

Chavez laughed as he started back inside. Natalie swore she could here him singing the words to "It's a small World."

"Funny," Natalie yelled back at him.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Heather stood in the doorway of the Mayor's office watching Mike Anderson pack up his father's belongings to make room for the new Mayor of Jericho, Eric Green. Heather, along with most of Jericho, had made it out to the funeral a week before. It had supposed to have been a small affair, but in the end it was chaotic as the people of Jericho said goodbye to another leader. Heather had tried to speak to Mike, but he had been surrounded almost continuously by throngs of mourners offering their support and encouragement.

"Mike, I didn't get a chance to talk to you much at the funeral," Heather said from her place at the door. "I'm sorry about your father."

Mike looked up from his task and gave Heather a small smile, "Thanks."

Heather wasn't sure where to begin the conversation. There was so much she wanted to tell him. She stood, arms crossed over her burgeoning stomach in silence, as she watched him finish putting things in a box.

"I'm not sure why I'm even boxing this stuff up," Mike commented. "Most of it is junk I'm never going to look at again."

"Yeah, but one day you might want to. I know when my dad died I took everything from his office. Once in awhile I'll open the box of things up and remember what it was like to be with him."

"One problem, my father isn't like yours. I've spent the better part of a year trying to forget all my memories of him. I doubt that it's going to change because he got shot and killed," Mike replied.

"You never know," Heather offered.

"Yeah, right," Mike answered as he closed the lid on the box.

"I never got the chance to thank you for saving my life," Heather said abruptly changing subjects.

"There's no need. I didn't do it for you," Mike said in an uneven voice.

"Then why did you do it?" Heather asked.

Mike sat the box he was holding down on the desk and turned to face Heather straight on. "I did it for me. I did it because I made a promise a long time ago to take care of you and abide by my promises."

"Yeah, you did a great job taking care of me when you left me to go follow your dreams," Heather shot back.

"You're not going to believe it, but I left for you," Mike replied.

"You're full of it," Heather angrily answered.

"Have you ever thought about what would have happened if I would have stayed here? I would have turned into my fucking father and you would've ended up hating me."

"It didn't have to be that way," Heather replied.

"Yes it did. It was the road we were headed down. We would've gotten married, had a couple of kids, and then in ten years you'd dream of ways to leave. My mother spent her whole life regretting marrying my father. I couldn't do that to you."

"Instead you leave me. Was I that terrible to live with?" Heather asked.

"Heather, it was never about you. I loved you. Heck, I still love you. Don't you realize I spend every day wondering if I made the right decision? Part of me, the selfish part, wanted to take you with me, but I wasn't sure where I was even going or how I was going to take care of myself. I spent my whole life under my father's thumb, with him taking care of me, paying my way. I had to stand on my own two feet. I didn't want to bring you into that."

"We could've done it together," Heather offered.

"I had to do it on my own," Mike replied. "I had to know I could do it."

"That's stupid," Heather complained.

"That's what Natalie said," Mike said with a smile on his face.

"Mike, why did you come back? I know you're letter said you came back because Natalie asked you to, but…"

"I said I was coming back to help Natalie which is partially true, but the part that I couldn't even acknowledge to myself was that I came back to see you. I wanted to find out if you were okay; find out if I made the right decision."

"I'm okay, Mike," Heather replied.

"No, you're not. I leave and you shack up with Jake Green."

"What's wrong with Jake?"

"What's not wrong with Jake? I get that you were lonely, but Jake Green isn't good for you. He isn't good for anybody."

"You don't have room to talk," Heather shot back.

"Heather, I'm just saying that Jake isn't the stick around for the long haul kind of guy."

"That's the pot calling the kettle black."

"It's not the same thing. Until recently, I spent my entire life trying to live up to expectations. Jake Green spent his entire life trying to live them down."

"You don't know anything about him."

"I grew up in this town. I know everything about him. Just because the guy all of the sudden decides to play hero doesn't mean he'd make a good husband or father."

"Mike, you have no right!"

"I know. That's why I've kept my distance because I don't have any right to say anything," he yelled back.

Silence fell between them as neither was quite sure what to say. Finally, Mike continued, "Heather, I know that my leaving had to be hard on you"

"Hard on me! It was hell, Mike. You can't come back eighteen months later, say you're sorry, and think everything is okay!"

"I didn't think everything was going to be okay. Heather, that's not what I meant."

"Then what do you mean," Heather asked.

"I don't know what I mean," Mike threw out in frustration. He took a deep breath. "All I want for you is to be happy. I guess if Jake Green makes you happy; then go for it."

Heather nodded.

"But if he hurts you, I'm warning you; I'll kill him," Mike said in a menacing tone.

Heather wasn't sure what to make of that last statement. "Thanks," she offered giving Mike an awkward glance.

"I'd better get going. I've got to get back to work," Mike declared as he picked up his box and headed out of the Mayor's office.


	18. Chapter 17

It's Not Over: Chapter 17

Disclaimer: The name "Jericho" and all character names and trademarks associated with the television program are the intellectual property of Junction Entertainment, Fixed Mark Productions, CBS Paramount Television and/or CBS Studios, Inc. The following story is intended solely as an intellectual exercise without profit motive. No infringement of copyright is intended or should be implied.

Notes: As always, feedback is appreciated. Thanks to Jordanmr for the feedback!  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jake took a deep breath as he walked through the deserted Jericho High School kitchen. He dragged his bare hands along the cold steel tables where only a little more than a year ago lunch ladies had worked to feed the throngs of hungry teenagers at lunch time. No fan of the food or hanging out in the lunch room, Jake had skipped out going off school grounds. He spent most of lunch periods drinking booze out of large convenience cups and smoking cigarettes. Jake really missed the days when his only care was how much trouble he was going to get in with his dad.

Everyday Jake found himself in new roles that dragged him further from that punk kid. Tonight, he found himself hunting down Natalie Taylor as a favor for her brother. After this afternoon, Jimmy was pretty sure that Natalie was upset. Jake was pretty sure that she was a mess, but he didn't want to worry her brother. Jimmy had told Jake that he would have gone looking for his sister himself, but he wasn't sure if it would make things better or worse.

With Heather urging him on, Jake had agreed and now he came looking for Natalie Taylor. Even so, he really did not think he was the man for the job. His relationship with Natalie had never been a warm and fuzzy one and Jake was probably the last person that she'd pour her heart out to.

With the sense of foreboding and guilt, Jake headed toward the back door to the kitchen and to the last place that anyone had seen her. Before Jake finally made it to the door to the back loading dock, he heard some old country music song blaring and the sound of Natalie singing to it loudly and off-key. As he cringed at the horrible sounds of Natalie's singing, Jake noticed that a block had been set in place to keep the door from closing and locking. As Jake opened the door, he made sure not to disturb the block and gently let the door close.

The cold November air blew through him like a knife. He could see his breath in the faint moonlight and he wondered how Natalie could stand being out here. According to Chavez, she's been sitting out here for the greater part of an hour. She had to be getting close to hypothermic.

Natalie hadn't noticed that Jake had come out. She continued to sing along to what sounded like Johnny Cash. _"…I'm stuck in Folsom Prison, And time keeps draggin' on, But that train keeps a-rollin', On down to San Antone."_

Jake appraised the situation and noticed that Natalie was drinking whiskey straight out of the bottle and in the faint light it looked like there were some medicine bottles sitting next to her. No wonder she didn't realize how cold it was out here, he doubted she felt anything.

"Jake, what... are… you doing here?" she slurred out much more coherently than Jake would have figured. She turned the radio off as an announcer came on indicating it was the Armed Forces Radio station broadcasting out of San Antonio.

"I came to check on you," Jake replied with the stock response he'd planned.

"Yeah right, you could give a rat's ass about me," Natalie replied with no emotion. She took a swig from the bottle of whiskey.

"That's not true," Jake half-heartedly defended.

"Jake, you don't care about me and we both know it. You've spent the greater part of your formative years making my life miserable."

"I don't remember it that way," Jake replied. He quickly realized that Natalie hadn't drunk as much as he thought or she had a much better tolerance for alcohol than even he had.

"Let's see. I'll give you the highlights," Natalie said more for the sake of argument than because she felt anything. Natalie had quit feeling anything about half an hour ago. "Second grade, you and Emily cut my braids off leaving me with the worst hair style imaginable. Your mother felt so bad; she took me to the most expensive hair stylist in New Bern to fix it and gave me free piano lessons for a year."

"I thought those lessons were for life," Jake quipped remembering it. At the time, he thought he was being funny.

"Well, after so many occasions, your mother finally made it that way."

"When else did I make your life miserable?" Jake asked out of curiosity as he sat down next to Natalie on the end of the dock. He knew from experience that talking about anything is better than not talking at all when in a bad situation.

"I'll move forward to junior high. You slashed my bike's tires and Emily posted flyers all over the school saying 'Fat Nat has a Flat.'"

"Oh, I forgot about that one," Jake said with a chuckle as he remembered the incident. Natalie hadn't really been fat, but Emily wasn't very good at rhyming and that was all she could come up with. His father had grounded him for a week when he got wind of it.

"How about high school when you and Emily glued me to the seat? I'm still not sure how you even managed to keep the glue sticky enough to attach me," Natalie said. "I was so humiliated that I didn't even want to return to school. My Dad was the one who forced me." She couldn't believe she'd even cared about that incident. What a stupid foolish girl she had been.

"If it makes you feel any better, I think that was the incident that got me sent to military school," Jake offered. His father had been so upset after Natalie's father, who also happened to be an Assistant State's Attorney, came to the Mayor's office out for blood. Natalie's dad threatened to bring charges against Jake and Emily if the Mayor didn't do something about Jake.

"A little. I never understood why you were so mean to me. I get why Emily was. My dad put her dad in prison on several occasions. She had a reason to hate my guts, but you didn't. What did I do to make you hate me so much?" Natalie asked more out of a strange curiosity like she was asking about someone else's life. She felt like that girl was no longer her: for good, for bad, for whatever.

Jake threw a small rock that was sitting nearby out into the driveway as guilt began overtaking him. He'd done a lot of terrible stuff growing up, but most of the time the consequences didn't come to bear. He'd never had to think about his victims. "I didn't hate you. I never hated you. I just didn't care. All I could think about was the moment; the thrill of your reaction. I didn't think about what it was doing to you."

Natalie knew she should have appreciated Jake's honesty. She knew he was a different man than the kid she'd grown up with. At the moment, however, her focus was on the pain of the present, not the pain of the past. She chewed her lip as she and looked at Jake who waiting for her to respond. Moving on she shook her head and asked, "Alright, I guess we've decided that you really don't care, so what is the real reason you are here?"

Jake gave up on arguing the point knowing that all evidence pointed to her conclusion. He'd been pretty rotten to her. "Jimmy wanted me to check to make sure you were okay," Jake replied studying Natalie's face as much as he could in the faint moonlight. What disturbed him more than anything was the total lack of emotion there.

"I'm fine and dandy," Natalie replied with a fake smile. She took another swig of the whiskey and picked up a pill bottle trying to decide whether she wanted to finish them off right now or wait for Jake Green to leave.

"Maybe you should give those pills to me. I don't think alcohol and pain meds are a good mix," Jake suggested as he started seriously worrying about Natalie. He debated whether he should run inside and get Chavez. He wished he'd brought his radio. Jimmy should be the one doing this, not him.

"Oh, Vicodin and whiskey are a great mix," Natalie replied.

"They'll kill you," Jake warned knowing instinctively that Natalie already knew that.

"Can't kill what's already dead."

"You're not dead. You've got your whole life ahead of you," Jake offered knowing it was a bullshit answer. After what had happened this afternoon, Jake honestly couldn't blame the woman for wanting to end it all.

"What life? Jake, you maybe getting your happily ever after, but I'm sure as hell not," Natalie replied. Anger started seeping into her voice which actually made Jake feel better. "I asked for too much. I always wanted more than I was ever likely to get."

"None of it was your fault," Jake replied.

"Yeah, it was. I knew it was going to be a disaster from the start," Natalie countered. She stared out into the pavement tears starting to roll down her cheeks.

"What happened anyway?" Jake asked. He'd gotten the story from others, but not Natalie. Maybe if he could get Natalie's take he could figure out how things had gone so horribly wrong.

"Heather and Mike were there. I'm sure you already spoke to them," Natalie replied not wanting to rehash what she'd already gone over in her own mind for the past several hours trying to figure it out.

"They said they only came in on the middle. Maybe if you tell me what happened, it will make you feel better and help me figure out what to do," Jake offered. He knew talking things through worked for him; maybe it would work for her. He had to try something. He wasn't about to leave a woman alone with a bottles of whiskey and pills listening to depressing Johnny Cash songs.

"It all started with Chavez asking me to do a favor……"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_Earlier that afternoon…_

Natalie hopped through the door of the sheriff's station in town hall looking for her brother. She made the conscious decision to look for him, knowing that he would probably agree with her feelings that Roger Hammond didn't belong in jail. At the very least, he would hear her out. Bill, on the other hand, would see her requesting it as an affront to his authority or some dishonorable favor that he couldn't allow.

She loved Bill she told herself over and over again as if she had to convince herself of it. He had his quirks like his belief that rules were meant to be enforced and not bent. One example of his bull-headed nature was the speeding ticket that he issued to Natalie the summer before the bombs. She'd been going at most five miles above the speed limit. Jimmy had been on vacation with the kids and so the usual check on Bill wasn't there. Sheriff Dawes, God rest his soul, had been kind enough to have the ticket dismissed. Everyone, including Natalie, had chalked it up to Bill being Bill.

To her dismay, Natalie found Bill alone in the sheriff's station. He was hunched over the counter going through a report. She internally debated whether she should turn around before he realized she was there. Unfortunately the rubber stops of her crutches made a rather loud and distinctive squeaking noise with each step. Bill knew she was coming before she had even entered the door.

"Hey Nat," he offered looking up from his report. He gave her a grin, but then thought better of it. His face changed in an instant giving her an admonishing look. "I thought you were supposed to stay off your feet. How'd you get over here?"

"To answer your first question; I needed to talk to Jimmy about something. To your second question; I walked or rather hopped over from the high school. I swear I stayed off my leg," Natalie replied holding up her right hand. She gave him a pasted on smile.

Bill shook his head in disgust. Why couldn't the woman follow a simple rule? "What did you want to talk to Jimmy about?" he asked deciding that picking a fight over Natalie's choice of walking over was less important than the reason for her coming in the first place.

"It's not important," Natalie quickly answered hoping to get out of talking to him about it.

"It had to be pretty important if you came all the way over here. You were complaining this morning that your leg was bothering you," Bill countered. He knew she was lying and he hated it. Since she'd returned from Texas, he felt like all she did was hide things. And to top it all off, she was surrounded by men whom all seemed to be rather attached to her. Bill told himself he wasn't jealous knowing it was a lie.

"It's just something I wanted to discuss with Jimmy…" she sheepishly answered. She was completely regretting this whole venture. She silently swore to herself that Chris would pay for this.

"What's it about? Maybe I can help you," Bill offered in an almost light-hearted tone. He was trying to not act jealous or angry, but he wasn't doing a very good job of it. The problem with being with someone who has known you your whole life is that they can see right through.

"It's okay. I'll just talk to Jimmy about it later," she replied trying to act nonchalant herself. She started to turn around and head out the door.

Bill knew immediately that she was avoiding talking to him. He took immediate action and grabbed Natalie's arm squeezing it hard causing her to stop and turn. In an angry tone he asked, "Are you keeping secrets from me? What the hell is going on?"

Normally, Bill would like to think of himself as an understanding boyfriend or now a fiancé, but Bill was having a bad day. Two of the new deputies had called out sick; a couple of teenagers had decided to go on a graffiti run on several buildings. What was making matters worse was that right now he had Roger Hammond in a holding cell. He and Jimmy couldn't decide whether to let him go or not.

Technically, Roger Hammond was still on what can only be described as a "No Trespass List" and the only one who can contravene that order is the Mayor. Well, the elected Mayor Anderson is dead. The acting Mayor, Eric, was still out of commission and having to make decisions from the couch of his parent's living room when he wasn't high on pain meds. Jake disappeared to who knows where. That, as far as Bill was concerned, left it up to Jimmy and himself.

Bill's steadfast belief was that the rule of law had to be enforced with no exceptions. Roger Hammond was a criminal even if he was now supposedly helping the resistance. Jimmy, on the other hand, wanted to be more lenient and let by-gones be by-gones. With the two of them at an impasse, Jimmy headed over to the Greens to get a definitive answer from Eric, hoping to find him in a semi-lucid state. Now, Natalie was hiding things from him again. Why couldn't things be straight forward?

"I'm not keeping secrets from you. I had something that I wanted to _discuss_ with Jimmy not you," Natalie replied anger starting to seep into her voice in response to Bill's accusations and his manhandling of her.

Bill took a deep breath and tried to control his anger. After a moment, he replied, "Well what is it that you wanted to _discuss_ with Jimmy?"

"Bill, do I have to run everything through you first?" she asked in frustration pulling away from Bill's grasp.

"Yes," He grabbed her left hand where she was still wearing her engagement ring and held it up. "That ring means we're a team. It means you tell me what the hell is going on!"

Natalie studied Bill's beet-red face trying to decide whether she was angry with him or felt sorry for him. As he narrowed his eyes, it was enough to push Natalie into the angry column again and spurted out, "Am I not allowed to speak to my brother privately about ANYTHING!"

_No!_" he started yelling back without thinking. At this point the anger had taken over and Bill was running solely on emotion. "What's so damn important that you are picking a fight with me about not telling me?!"

"I'm not picking a fight!" she countered.

"Damn it! Yes you are!"

"If anyone is picking a fight, it's you!" Natalie replied. "You want to know so badly what I wanted to talk to Jimmy about then fine; I'll tell you. I wanted to ask him about releasing Roger Hammond."

"Not going to happen," Bill replied arms crossed and chest jetted out in a gesture of dominance. No matter what Natalie had asked Bill was going to say no. Anger had gotten the better of him and his judgment was out the window.

"Why not?" Natalie asked.

"Because he was banished for nearly killing Mayor Anderson…"

"From what I heard Mayor Anderson was the one who drew the weapon. Roger was just defending himself," Natalie countered trying to be reasonable.

"You weren't here. You don't know what you are talking about," Bill replied through his teeth.

"Roger told me what happened and I for one believe him. He's a good man and he's a friend. Let him go home. In any case, you nearly killed them yourself playing sharp-shooter. Maybe you should be banished." Natalie knew just where to hit him. Bill was overly proud of his shooting ability. Hitting him there was below the belt and she knew it, but if she was going to have a fight she might as well do it right.

"I did no such thing!" Bill yelled back. "You weren't here. You don't know what the hell was going on!"

"Roger was trying to protect his friends, refugees, who Gray and his cronies, including you, wanted to send out into the cold to their death. What exactly were _you_ trying to do?"

"I was protecting my town. Those people were outsiders, nobodies. We had to protect our own!" Bill defended.

"What about me? I was a refugee just like those people. Did you even think about that?" Natalie accusingly asked.

"It's different; totally different," Bill sputtered out.

"Yeah right," Natalie replied in disgust. She hated this double standard that everyone seemed to live with. We can treat people a certain way, but if other people treated us that way we're up in arms.

"And ANYWAY, when the hell did you talk to Roger Hammond?!" Bill asked with frustration and anger teeming in his voice. Another secret she'd kept from him.

"I don't like your tone!" Natalie angrily countered.

"If you don't like my tone, then don't ask me to do favors!"

"I wasn't asking you! If you remember, I was going to talk to Jimmy," Natalie replied. "And in any case, it isn't a favor. It was just asking you to stop acting like an asshole and pretend like you're a human being."

"I'm not being an asshole!" Bill defended.

"Yes, you are. It's your very nature!" Natalie complained. She knew that the fight was about over. Once she accused him of being an asshole he usually backed off. She may not get Roger free, but Bill wouldn't push the argument any further.

Their voices were carrying out of the sheriff's station and through town hall catching the attention of Mike and Heather who were coming from the Mayor's office. Mike and Heather looked at each other forgetting their own previous argument. Mike wordlessly headed to the sheriff's station with his box of his father's things in his hands followed closely behind by Heather. Within moments, Mike and Heather were in the room and standing behind Natalie who was still near the door balancing herself on her crutches.

"What's the matter?" Mike asked with concern as soon as he had entered the room.

Bill sneered at Mike. "Stay out of it!" he replied through his teeth pointing his index finger up in warning.

Mike came around next to Natalie to make sure she was okay. In a low voice she begged, "Please stay out of it."

Mike did not like Bill's tone and felt protective of Natalie. He couldn't make himself stay out of it "No. What the fuck are you arguing with her about?" he asked.

"Roger Hammond," Bill said through his teeth.

"What about Roger?" Heather innocently asked hoping to not rock the boat and make things worse. She would have left it well alone and walked away, letting Bill and Natalie fight out whatever it was they were fighting about, but Roger was her friend and her colleague in this crazy fight with the ASA. If he was in trouble, she wanted to know about it.

When Bill didn't answer, Natalie felt compelled to. "He's holding him and I want him out," Natalie replied without looking at Heather. Her focus was on Bill.

"You're holding Roger!" Mike exclaimed. He set down the box of stuff he was carrying on the ground getting ready to fight as he got the feeling that the situation was about to get out of hand. He had a gun in its holster at his waist and wanted to have ready access to it. "I'm with her on this one. Roger Hammond is a good man, a freedom fighter. He doesn't deserve to be sitting in a holding cell."

Heather held back her shock at hearing that Roger was being held. No one had told her that he was sitting in the holding cell. She took a look at Mike who was quickly getting angry. She knew Bill well enough to know that he could be a hot-head, too. With this volatile mix, Heather felt like she had to try to pull Mike back. "Mike, getting upset isn't going to do anyone any good," Heather warned him even though she agreed with him completely. It took everything in her not to jump into the argument, but this wasn't her fight. It wasn't Mike's fight. This was between Natalie and Bill. She got the feeling there was more to this than Roger Hammond.

Bill shook his head, "I'm sorry, but that man is a criminal in my book and according to the rules of this town…"

"You're not sorry at all," Mike replied his own anger starting to seep in at Bill's arrogance. "What rules of the town are you referring to; the ones that make you judge, jury, and executioner?"

"Mike," Heather and Natalie both pled in unison hoping for calm.

Bill who already did not like Mike Anderson and his relationship with Natalie was now really pissed off. "Mike, I suggest you back off and leave us alone." Bill attempted to stand off against the much taller, bigger Mike and moved with in inches of him staring up at him.

"Back off little man!" Mike ordered shoving Bill back and with enough force to make Bill stagger backwards a few feet.

Within mere moments, Bill charged after Mike shoving him. It was mostly pushing and shoving at first, but escalated quickly to hitting. Then, without notice, the situation went from ridiculous to dangerous as the two men drew their guns and aimed them at each other. It was anyone's guess who drew first. Bill backed off a few feet with his gun still pointed at Mike. "Mike, I suggest you put that weapon down now or you're going to be joining your friend, Roger, in a holding cell!" Bill yelled.

"Please both of you back off," Heather urged. "No one needs to get hurt. Just put your guns down." Heather was quickly starting to realize that the situation was getting out of hand. She'd seen Bill do many stupid things but nothing this stupid. He was so angry that emotion had taken over. Instinctively she put a hand over her burgeoning belly and started to back off to try to get away from the situation.

Unfortunately, neither one budged. If anything things were getting tenser.

"Bill, you don't want to do this," Natalie urged trying to talk Bill down giving him a pleading look. She took a step forward on her crutches. She knew things were out of control. She hoped that maybe she could move between him and Mike and stop the situation.

"You three need to back off!" Bill exclaimed as he started feeling like it was him against the three of them. Obviously, her attempts at diffusing the situation by her presence weren't working.

"Bill, please just let them go. I swear you can keep Roger Hammond for as long as you please if you let Mike and Heather go," Natalie replied. Unfortunately, she'd been trying to hold her crutches under her arms making her hands visible and one of them got loose, slamming to the ground startling Bill.

The noise scared Bill enough that he pointed the gun in the direction of the sound and straight at Natalie. In that moment, Natalie was pretty sure that she was dead or was soon going to be and at the hands of a man who swore he'd love her and take care of her. She was no longer looking at Bill. Her eyes were focused on the black pistol in his hands. She kept waiting for the shot; thankful that she wouldn't have to live much longer.

"BILL, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" Jimmy yelled. "PUT THE GUN DOWN NOW!!!"

Jimmy's voice was enough to break Bill from his focus. Immediately Bill set down the gun on the desk behind him. Before anyone could blink, Jimmy was smashing his fist into Bill's face.

Natalie didn't wait to see how things turned out. To be honest, she wasn't sure she was still alive. In a haze, she picked up her fallen crutches and hopped out of the room, out of the town hall and back to the high school. In the background, she could hear Jake and Mike trying to pull Jimmy off of Bill. _Where had Jake come from? Who cared?_ She could even hear Heather's voice calling after her. Nothing made her turn back. If she had somewhere else to go, she would have left town.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_Back loading dock of the High School later that night_

"That's pretty much what Heather told me," Jake replied having heard Natalie's version of the events.

"Yeah, it was all pretty stupid wasn't it?" Natalie replied the first traces of emotion starting to show on her face. Pain was evident as much as anything.

"Stuff like that usually is," Jake agreed.

After a brief silence between the two of them, Natalie asked, "Did Roger get out?"

"Yeah, Jimmy let him out as soon as he stopped pummeling Bill," Jake answered. Jake had been surprised to see Jimmy beating the shit out of anyone, especially his best friend. He didn't blame him. Jake had wanted to get a few licks in too out of vengeance for Heather. Like Natalie had said, all over a stupid fight. It made his blood boil to think that Heather had been in danger at the hands of a friend, a man who'd claimed he loved her at one time. Of course, this was the same man who was pointing a gun straight in the direction of his fiancé, about to pull the trigger. He knew that Bill was an idiot, but he had no idea he was homicidal.

"Is Bill okay?" Natalie asked as she began to chew on her lower lip tears starting to glisten on her face in the faint moonlight.

Jake wasn't sure how to answer that question. Physically, Bill was okay considering that he'd been beaten up pretty good. Jimmy had given him a black eye and a broken nose before Mike and Jake had managed to pull Jimmy off.

But mentally, that was a whole other story. Bill was a mess. He'd practically begged to be put into lock up, but even Jimmy, in all his anger, wasn't going to do that. After being checked out by Kenchy at the hospital, Bill had turned in his badge and gun and stalked off to locations unknown. Finally after a few moments of contemplation, Jake answered, "I guess he's okay. I haven't seen him since this afternoon."

"Coward," Natalie said in disgust of her fiancé. "If you see him, can you give him this?" Natalie handed him her engagement ring. "Tell him I quit." No way, she was going to be on the same team as him again. Even if she could find it in herself to forgive him for nearly killing her today (which she highly doubted was possible), she knew that the image of the gun in his hands pointed at her would never leave.

Jake looked at the ring in his hands and then looked at the woman before him. He wondered about what she meant by that last statement. Wanting to remind her that there were still people who cared about her, he offered, "Jimmy is really worried about you. He's the one who sent me over. Maybe you should let me take you home to his house."

"No. I don't want the kids to see me like this," Natalie replied adamantly.

Before Jake could argue anymore on the subject, the door opened behind them and Chris Chavez appeared. "Aren't you two freezing out here?" he asked as he rubbed his hand on his arms. He was dressed in a long sleeve shirt, but the cold still cut through him.

"I am," Jake replied getting up. "Natalie why don't you come inside?" Jake offered his hand to help her up.

"Thanks Jake, but I'm going to stay out here for a little bit longer. I like the cold," Natalie explained. She liked breathing in the fresh cold air. It made her feel like maybe she was still alive.

Chavez gave Jake a look letting him know he'd take it from here.

Jake nodded in reply. "Well, Natalie, I'm going to head on home. I'm sure Heather's got to be worried about me by now. I'll see you later." When Jake got to Heather's, he promised himself he'd finally tell Heather everything that was in his heart; good and bad. He'd never let a day go by where he wouldn't let her know how important she was to him. He'd almost lost her so many times. He couldn't afford not to.

"See you tomorrow Jake," Chavez replied. "Remember meet here at 0800."

"Yes, sir," Jake replied giving Chavez a mock salute. He headed back into the school leaving Chavez and Natalie alone on the back loading dock. He gave the pair a parting glance and could easily imagine the two of them together. Chavez was man who was normally pretty stoic when he wasn't smiling, but right now the man looked like he could cry. Jake quickly turned away and headed inside wanting to give them privacy.

Chavez sat down on the ground next to Natalie. "God, it's cold out here. How can you stand it?" he asked rubbing and warming his hands with his breath. He studied Natalie's face glad to finally see that she was showing some signs of life.

"You get use to it," Natalie replied staring out into the blackness.

Chavez picked one of the pill bottles that was sitting next to her and tried to study the label in the faint moonlight. He'd tried to talk to her earlier before she'd ventured outside, but she'd been almost catatonic lying on his air mattress. At least now she was showing some life even if it seemed to be mildly suicidal. "Look, I'm sorry I sent you over there. If I'd known…"

"It's not your fault," Natalie interrupted. "I should have said no. I knew better than to broach the subject with Bill. Then of course Mike has to come in and he makes things worse…"

"Good old Mike. Always does have a way of pissing people off." When Mike had returned and had informed him what had happened, it took the Taco brothers (two of the Texas Guardsmen) to keep Chavez from killing Mike. What had been a nice domestic-type squabble had turned into an almost gunfight because Mike couldn't keep his mouth shut.

Silence fell between the two of them. "So, what are you going to do now?" Chavez finally asked.

"At the moment, the plan is to drink until I forget what happened today. After that, oh, I'm playing it by ear," Natalie replied taking another swig from her bottle of whiskey. "So, what do you want?"

"Nothin'" He gave her a mischievous smile. He had an idea to get her mind off her current troubles.

Natalie mockingly laughed for a moment. "Seriously, what do you want?"

"Mission is being moved up. We leave tomorrow," Chavez answered in his methodical CIA tone.

"Why the rush?" Natalie asked giving Chavez a confused look.

"Peace deal is about to be signed. It seems China and Russia are no longer willing to buy Cheyenne's debt and have put a call on the debt they've already bought. ASA is about to go bankrupt."

"So, what's the point in going?" Natalie asked. She didn't get why they needed to go after Valente anymore.

"Nat, if we don't do this now, there will never be another chance. Once that peace deal gets signed, Valente and the others will probably go free; free until someone finally brings them up on charges for what they did."

"So?" Natalie asked in reply. She didn't get his point.

"As long as Valente is alive and on this earth, he will be a danger to you and me. He'll be a danger to anyone who has firsthand knowledge of what he did. Men like him do not like to be accused of mass murder. Once his house of cards falls, he'll be scrambling to protect what he can."

"But Chris, the bomb, the stuff on Hawkins' computer; it is all out there. What could he possibly think we could do to him?" Natalie asked hoping to convince herself and Chris that this mission was no longer necessary.

"He can claim it was all fabricated, part of the war effort. Or claim he had no knowledge or some shit like that. What he can't argue was fabricated are people like you, me, and Hawkins. We can put the pieces together that point directly to him as a mastermind, if not the key mastermind to the whole thing," Chavez explained knowing that one day in the future they'd all have to explain what happened. He wondered if people would forgive his own naivety in believing the bullshit he was fed. Chavez knew he would never forgive himself.

Natalie thought about what he was saying for a moment. She wasn't sure if it was the whiskey, but Chavez was making sense. She knew he was right. "How can I help?" Natalie asked.

Chavez gave her a smile. "We need someone to drive us out to an airstrip about forty miles outside of town. Do you think you could do it?"

"Yeah, as long as it doesn't have a clutch," Natalie replied rubbing her bad left leg. "Why do you want me to drive?"

"Because you're the best damn wheelman I've ever seen and things are probably going to get harry. The strip is in a location that is overrun by Ravenwood and ASA conscripts. Jake's going to be your gunner."

"Sounds dangerous," Natalie replied.

"It is. So if you don't want to do this, you don't have to," Chavez offered. He didn't really think it was going to be particularly dangerous, but he hoped that maybe getting back some of their Texas magic from the past might get her out of this funk.

"Why the hell not," Natalie replied without hesitation. "I'm dead anyway."

"That's the spirit," Chavez sarcastically agreed. "So, I'll be taking that." Chavez grabbed the whiskey bottle from her hand. "And these." Chavez grabbed the pill bottles off the ground. "Now come inside and get some sleep. I'm going to need your full attention tomorrow."

"Oh, the joy," Natalie declared with a snort.


End file.
